Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:43  
clear_day Transit: 12:51  
SunsetSet: 18:59 south
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All Constellations » Cepheus » 

20 Cephei

Altitude: 44.5°   Azimuth: 39.9°   Direction: North-East

20 Cephei is a variable giant star in the constellation of Cepheus.

20 Cephei visual magnitude is 5.27. Because of its reltive faintness, 20 Cephei should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 20 Cephei:

5.27
Giant

20 Cephei is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 44.5°
Azimuth: 39.9°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 20 Cephei

20 Cephei is situated close to the northern celestial pole and, as such, it is visible for most part of the year from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 20 Cephei are provided in the following table:

22h 05m 00s
+62° 47’ 08”
105.16°
5.81°
Cepheus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 20 Cephei in the sky:

Finder chart 20 Cephei star
Simplified finder chart for 20 Cephei.

Visibility of 20 Cephei from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

20 Cephei is circumpolar and transits at 22:02 UTC (altitude: 78.7°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of 20 Cephei

The image below is a photograph of 20 Cephei from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 20 Cephei is 0.015 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.058 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 20 Cephei star
DSS2 image of 20 Cephei. The red arrow shows the motion of 20 Cephei during the next 10000 years (2.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and 9.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 20 Cephei from the Sun and relative movement

20 Cephei is distant 318.05 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 21 kilometers per second.

97.56 pc
318.05 ly
-21 km/s
0.015 arcsec/year
0.058 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 20 Cephei

20 Cephei belongs to spectral class K4 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

0.32
K4III
3934K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 20 Cephei is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 20 Cephei. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 20 Cephei

SAO19847
SAO19847