Star profile
Kaffaljidhma
Gamma Ceti · Cetus
What is Kaffaljidhma
Kaffaljidhma lies in Cetus 79.6 light-years away, a white class-A star, discreet at first glance but full of nuance under the telescope. Its name, distorted from the Arabic «kaff al-jidhma», means «the severed palm», and belongs to a medieval asterism that traced an open hand among the stars. Cetus, the sea monster of the Andromeda myth, occupies a long and dim strip of the autumn sky: Kaffaljidhma stands out there as a firm point amid the half-light.
Where it is and when to see it
Kaffaljidhma 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Kaffaljidhma
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.47
- Distance
- 79.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 40.825° · Dec 3.236°
- Catalogue
- HIP 12706 · HD 16970
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- Tau Ceti3.49
- Iota Ceti3.56
- Theta Ceti3.60
- Baten KaitosZeta Ceti3.74
- Upsilon Ceti3.99