Star profile
Lambda Ceti
Hot blue starWhat is Lambda Ceti
Lambda Ceti is a young B6 blue giant about 100 million years old, five times the Sun's mass and spinning hard at 131 km per second. That fast rotation flattens her poles slightly. She lies in the head of Cetus, the sea monster of the winter sky, around 576 light-years away. She lives fast: on the stellar scale, her existence will be fleeting.
Where it is and when to see it
Lambda 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 47° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 58° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 47° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 81° S.
It ranks no. 18 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 43° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 580 years ago.
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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 Lambda Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.71
- Distance
- 576.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 44.929° · Dec 8.907°
- Catalogue
- HIP 13954 · HD 18604
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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
- 7 Ceti4.44
- 2 Ceti4.55
- Chi Ceti4.66
- Sigma Ceti4.74
- Phi 1 Ceti4.77