Star profile
Epsilon Persei
Variable starWhat is Epsilon Persei
Epsilon Persei shines some 638 light-years away, a hot blue B-type star that pulses with the restless rhythm of Beta Cephei variables. It anchors the body of Perseus, the hero fixed to the northern winter sky, where its cold fire shares the stage with Algol and Mirfak. A spectroscopic binary, its companion has never been resolved in a telescope —only inferred from the slow swing of its spectral lines.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon 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 79° up.
- From New York it culminates about 89° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 16° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 50° S.
It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 99 stars of Perseus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Mirfak, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 640 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Epsilon Persei
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.90
- Distance
- 638.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 59.463° · Dec 40.010°
- Catalogue
- HIP 18532 · HD 24760
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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
- Gamma Persei2.91
- Delta Persei3.01
- Rho Persei3.32
- MiramEta Persei3.77
- Nu Persei3.77