Star profile
50 Ceti
What is 50 Ceti
50 Ceti is an orange giant 546 light-years away, woven into the long body of the Whale, one of the most sprawling constellations in the sky. Its light reaches us from the late fifteenth century, almost contemporary with Columbus's first Atlantic crossing. It is one of those modest stars that only emerges when the eyes adapt to the dark and begin populating the silhouette of the sea monster with details that once went unnoticed.
Where it is and when to see it
50 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 23° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 34° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 72° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 75° N.
It ranks no. 46 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 550 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 50 Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.41
- Distance
- 546.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 23.996° · Dec -15.400°
- Catalogue
- HIP 7450 · HD 9856
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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
- 75 Ceti5.36
- HIP 82305.37
- 25 Ceti5.40
- 70 Ceti5.42
- 39 Ceti5.42