Star profile

Delta Ceti

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Delta Ceti

Delta Ceti is a blue-white type B star suspended some 650 light-years away, in the body of the cosmic Whale. It belongs to the Beta Cephei variables: its surface pulses rhythmically, swelling and shrinking on cycles of hours —a stellar mechanism astronomers use as a seismograph to probe the interiors of massive stars. Nearby lurks the dim glow of Mira, the first variable star ever recognised.

Where it is and when to see it

Delta 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 October, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 39° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 50° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 56° above the horizon.

It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from nearly the whole planet.

It ranks no. 10 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 34° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 650 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Delta Ceti

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 4.08
Distance: 649.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 39.871° · Dec 0.329°
Catalogue: HIP 12387 · HD 16582

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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