Star profile
57 Ceti
Cool red starWhat is 57 Ceti
57 Ceti is a cool M-type red giant some 589 light-years away, immersed in the slow course of the Sea Monster s constellation. Its reddish light reaches magnitude 5.43, almost out of reach without clean, dark skies. Cetus stretches across the celestial equator, and among its stars lives the famed Mira, prototype of long-period variables —a reminder that this band of sky hides red giants in various stages of their slow agony.
Where it is and when to see it
57 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 18° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 28° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 69° N.
It ranks no. 50 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 18° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 590 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 57 Ceti
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.43
- Distance
- 588.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 29.942° · Dec -20.825°
- Catalogue
- HIP 9326 · HD 12255
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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
- 39 Ceti5.42
- 60 Ceti5.42
- HIP 110295.43
- HIP 93725.43
- HIP 41045.47