Star profile

Sigma Persei

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

What is Sigma Persei

Sigma Persei is an orange giant glowing on the flank of the hero Perseus, some three hundred and sixty light-years away from us. Its warm tone contrasts with the brilliant white and bluish stars that dominate the rest of the constellation, an elegant reminder that the sky is built from very different stellar generations. The light we now see set out when the Inquisition was still interrogating Galileo in Rome and modern astronomy was barely emerging from the newly invented telescope.

Where it is and when to see it

Sigma 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 86° up.
From New York it culminates about 83° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 8° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 42° S.

It ranks no. 23 in brightness among the 99 stars of Perseus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Mirfak, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 360 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Sigma Persei

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

Write my signature

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 Sigma Persei

Constellation: Perseus
Apparent magnitude: 4.36
Distance: 359.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 52.644° · Dec 47.995°
Catalogue: HIP 16335 · HD 21552

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