Star profile

Misam

Kappa Persei · Perseus

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Misam

Misam belongs to Perseus, the hero who beheaded Medusa and rescued Andromeda. An orange giant at 113 light-years, she is cool compared to her blue neighbours yet rich in spectral lines that betray elements forged in earlier stars. Her Arabic name «al-miʿṣam» means 'the wrist': another fragment of the body scattered across the medieval Islamic sky.

Where it is and when to see it

Misam 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 83° up.
From New York it culminates about 86° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 11° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 45° S.

It ranks no. 10 in brightness among the 99 stars of Perseus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Mirfak, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 110 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Misam

Constellation: Perseus
Apparent magnitude: 3.79
Distance: 112.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 47.374° · Dec 44.858°
Catalogue: HIP 14668 · HD 19476

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.

See all 99 stars in Perseus