Star profile
Gamma Persei
Variable starWhat is Gamma Persei
Gamma Persei keeps watch in the northern heart of Perseus, a yellow G-type giant whose light —dispatched 243 years ago— now arrives with a subtle wink. It belongs to the rare club of long-period eclipsing binaries: every fourteen years, an unseen companion drifts across its face and dims it briefly, an event astronomers await like a returning comet. A quiet star in a constellation crowded with louder names.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma Persei 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 never sets and culminates about 88° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 77° up.
- From Sydney it culminates about 3° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 36° S.
It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 99 stars of Perseus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Mirfak, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 240 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 Gamma Persei
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.91
- Distance
- 243.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 46.199° · Dec 53.506°
- Catalogue
- HIP 14328 · HD 18925
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Perseus
Perseus has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- MirfakAlpha Persei1.79
- AlgolBeta Persei2.09
- Zeta Persei2.84
- Epsilon Persei2.90
- Delta Persei3.01
- Rho Persei3.32
- MiramEta Persei3.77
- Nu Persei3.77