Star profile
Pi Cassiopeiae
Variable starWhat is Pi Cassiopeiae
Pi Cassiopeiae is a double-lined spectroscopic binary: two stars packed so close that the spectrograph picks out both chemical signatures while they chase each other in a circular two-day orbit. That proximity distorts them: they are no longer spheres but ellipsoids whose apparent brightness shifts slightly as they spin, on a 23.57-hour cycle that is exactly half the orbital period. The pair lies 175 light-years away, on the southern edge of Cassiopeia's W.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi Cassiopeiae lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Pi Cassiopeiae
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.95
- Distance
- 175.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 10.867° · Dec 47.025°
- Catalogue
- HIP 3414 · HD 4058
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia has 93 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CihGamma Cassiopeiae2.15
- SchedarAlpha Cassiopeiae2.24
- CaphBeta Cassiopeiae2.28
- Sigma Cassiopeiae4.88
- HIP 1159904.89
- Nu Cassiopeiae4.90
- Phi Cassiopeiae4.95
- 4 Cassiopeiae4.96