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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 86° up.
- From New York it culminates about 84° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 9° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 43° S.
It ranks no. 28 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 180 years ago.
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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
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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