Star profile
13 Ceti
Variable starWhat is 13 Ceti
13 Ceti is a yellow-white F-type sun, surprisingly close: only 69 light-years from here, in the body of the Whale. It is also a variable, meaning its brightness shifts on a measurable rhythm, a soft pulse only instruments register. Its light set out in the mid-twentieth century, around the time of the first Apollo missions. Through proximity and character, it is one of those stars that modern catalogues measure again and again.
Where it is and when to see it
13 Ceti lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 35° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 46° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 60° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 86° N.
It ranks no. 37 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 15° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 69 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 13 Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.20
- Distance
- 69.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 8.812° · Dec -3.593°
- Catalogue
- HIP 2762 · HD 3196
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Other stars in Cetus
Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- DiphdaBeta Ceti2.04
- MenkarAlpha Ceti2.54
- Eta Ceti3.46
- 37 Ceti5.14
- HIP 23815.17
- Phi 2 Ceti5.17
- HIP 35055.22
- HIP 117385.27