Star profile

Upsilon Ceti

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

What is Upsilon Ceti

Upsilon Ceti is an orange giant on the flank of the cosmic whale, some 293 light-years away. Its slow, warm light crosses a constellation that ancient imagination tied to the sea monster sent against Andromeda. There, among enormous figures and heroic plots, it brings the quiet shade of dusk —not the roar, but the ember.

Where it is and when to see it

Upsilon 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 17° 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. 9 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 290 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Upsilon Ceti

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 3.99
Distance: 292.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 30.001° · Dec -21.078°
Catalogue: HIP 9347 · HD 12274

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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