Star profile

81 Ceti

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is 81 Ceti

81 Ceti is a G5 giant with 2.4 times the Sun's mass, already evolved off the main sequence. A confirmed exoplanet circles it, 81 Ceti b, a gas giant of about 3.3 Jupiter masses orbiting in 2.8 years at a distance comparable to our asteroid belt. Its yellowish light reaches us from 302 light-years away within the celestial Whale.

Where it is and when to see it

81 Ceti lies in the southern 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 culminates about 35° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 46° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 59° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 87° N.

It ranks no. 74 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 32° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 300 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 81 Ceti

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 5.65
Distance: 301.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 39.424° · Dec -3.396°
Catalogue: HIP 12247 · HD 16400

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Other stars in Cetus

Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 111 stars in Cetus