Star profile
Nu Ceti
What is Nu Ceti
Nu Ceti is a yellow giant in the body of the Whale, the mythological creature sent by Poseidon to devour Andromeda. Its warm, evolved glow contrasts with the cold white of the younger stars surrounding it in this extended ecliptic constellation. The light we catch tonight set out 340 years ago, when the first refracting telescopes were just beginning to unravel the nature of stars.
Where it is and when to see it
Nu Ceti lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is November, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 44° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 51° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 84° S.
It ranks no. 24 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 36° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 340 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Nu Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.87
- Distance
- 340.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 38.969° · Dec 5.593°
- Catalogue
- HIP 12093 · HD 16161
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Other stars in Cetus
Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- DiphdaBeta Ceti2.04
- MenkarAlpha Ceti2.54
- Eta Ceti3.46
- 20 Ceti4.78
- Epsilon Ceti4.83
- Kappa 1 Ceti4.84
- Rho Ceti4.88
- 6 Ceti4.89