Star profile

Menkib

Xi Persei · Perseus

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class O · ~30,000 K

What is Menkib

Menkib is a rare blue O-type star, a hot variable supergiant some 1,245 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Perseus. Stars of its class are so massive they live only a few million years before erupting as supernovae, a short and violent existence in cosmic terms. Its Arabic name means «the shoulder»: it marks that of Perseus himself, the hero who in Greek myth cut off Medusa's head and rescued Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus in a single famous and decisive feat.

Where it is and when to see it

Menkib 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 74° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 20° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 54° S.

It ranks no. 14 in brightness among the 99 stars of Perseus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Mirfak, the brightest: it lies about 15° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 1,200 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Astronomical data for Menkib

Constellation: Perseus
Apparent magnitude: 3.98
Distance: 1245.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 59.741° · Dec 35.791°
Catalogue: HIP 18614 · HD 24912

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Other stars in Perseus

Perseus has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 99 stars in Perseus