Star profile
3 Ceti
Highly luminous starWhat is 3 Ceti
3 Ceti is an exceptionally luminous orange giant reaching us from over two thousand light-years away, in the northern reaches of the Whale. To be visible at magnitude 4.99 across that abyss, it must outshine the Sun by thousands of times —one of those rare beacons the naked eye still catches across the cosmic moat. Its light set out for us before the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Where it is and when to see it
3 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 28° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 39° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 67° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 79° N.
It ranks no. 30 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 2,100 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 3 Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.99
- Distance
- 2091.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 1.125° · Dec -10.510°
- Catalogue
- HIP 355 · HD 225212
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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
- 46 Ceti4.90
- 56 Ceti4.92
- HIP 79994.98
- 94 Ceti5.07
- 48 Ceti5.11