Star profile

Eta Ceti

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Eta Ceti

η Ceti casts a calm orange light from the body of the celestial Whale, 124 light-years away. A K-class giant, it has already exhausted the hydrogen in its core and swollen outward, its warm hue foreshadowing the fate that awaits the Sun many ages from now. When this light first set out, classical thermodynamics was still being argued over on Earth.

Where it is and when to see it

Eta 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 October, 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 66° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 80° N.

It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 120 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Eta Ceti

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 3.46
Distance: 123.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 17.147° · Dec -10.182°
Catalogue: HIP 5364 · HD 6805

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Other stars in Cetus

Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 111 stars in Cetus