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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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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
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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