Star profile
Sigma Cassiopeiae
Hot blue starWhat is Sigma Cassiopeiae
σ Cassiopeiae is a hot blue star, embedded in the W of Cassiopeia though set apart from the five principal lights. It is a spectroscopic binary —two suns orbiting so tightly that only the analysis of their light reveals the pairing. It shines with the electric blue of young, massive stars, in a region of the sky always visible to northern observers.
Where it is and when to see it
Sigma Cassiopeiae lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 86° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 75° up.
- From Sydney it culminates about 1° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 34° S.
It ranks no. 25 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 330,000 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Sigma Cassiopeiae
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.88
- Distance
- 326200.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 359.752° · Dec 55.755°
- Catalogue
- HIP 118243 · HD 224572
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Other stars in Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia has 93 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CihGamma Cassiopeiae2.15
- SchedarAlpha Cassiopeiae2.24
- CaphBeta Cassiopeiae2.28
- 1 Cassiopeiae4.84
- HIP 148624.85
- Tau Cassiopeiae4.88
- HIP 1159904.89
- Nu Cassiopeiae4.90