Star profile
Achird
Eta Cassiopeiae · Cassiopeia
Variable starWhat is Achird
Achird is an intimate neighbour of the Sun, just 19 light years away in Cassiopeia, and it shares with our star both G class and yellow temperature. It belongs to a double system whose companion is a small orange dwarf, and shows mild variations of chromospheric activity. It is one of the few Sun-like stars close enough to study in detail with a modest astronomer's eye.
Where it is and when to see it
Achird 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 never sets and culminates about 84° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 73° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 32° S.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 19 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Achird
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.46
- Distance
- 19.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 12.274° · Dec 57.815°
- Catalogue
- HIP 3821 · HD 4614
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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
- RuchbahDelta Cassiopeiae2.66
- SeginEpsilon Cassiopeiae3.35
- FuluZeta Cassiopeiae3.69
- 50 Cassiopeiae3.95
- Kappa Cassiopeiae4.17