Star profile
Caph
Beta Cassiopeiae · Cassiopeia
Variable starWhat is Caph
Caph, beta Cassiopeiae, anchors one tip of the northern W and trembles as a Delta Scuti variable, pulsing every two and a half hours. Her name comes from the Arabic «al-kaff», the palm of the hand: an ancient anatomical fragment transplanted into the medieval Arab inventory of the sky. At 54.8 light-years, she is one of the nearest neighbours that the eye can distinguish without effort on northern nights.
Where it is and when to see it
Caph 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 82° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 72° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 31° S.
It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 55 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 Caph
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.28
- Distance
- 54.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 2.293° · Dec 59.150°
- Catalogue
- HIP 746 · HD 432
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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
- RuchbahDelta Cassiopeiae2.66
- SeginEpsilon Cassiopeiae3.35
- AchirdEta Cassiopeiae3.46
- FuluZeta Cassiopeiae3.69
- 50 Cassiopeiae3.95
- Kappa Cassiopeiae4.17