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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:49  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Cetus » 

χ Ceti (chi Ceti)

Altitude: 7.6°   Azimuth: 118.0°   Direction: East-South-East

χ Ceti is a double giant star in the constellation of Cetus.

χ Ceti visual magnitude is 4.67. Because of its moderate brightness, χ Ceti should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about χ Ceti:

4.67
Giant

χ Ceti (chi Ceti) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 7.6°
Azimuth: 118.0°
Direction: East-South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of χ Ceti

χ Ceti is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of χ Ceti are provided in the following table:

01h 49m 35s
-10° 41’ 11”
165.48°
-68.61°
Cetus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of χ Ceti in the sky:

Finder chart χ Ceti (chi Ceti) star
Simplified finder chart for χ Ceti (chi Ceti).

Visibility of χ Ceti from your location

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

Today's χ Ceti (chi Ceti) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 100.7°
Max altitude: 27.8°
Azimuth: 259.3°

Digitized Sky Survey image of χ Ceti

The image below is a photograph of χ Ceti 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 χ Ceti is -0.146 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.093 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of χ Ceti (chi Ceti) star
DSS2 image of χ Ceti. The red arrow shows the motion of χ Ceti during the next 1000 years (-2.43 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.55 arcmin in declination);

Distance of χ Ceti from the Sun and relative movement

χ Ceti is distant 76.98 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 1 kilometers per second.

23.61 pc
76.98 ly
-1 km/s
-0.146 arcsec/year
-0.093 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of χ Ceti

χ Ceti belongs to spectral class F3 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

2.80
F3III
7276K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where χ Ceti is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

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

χ Ceti star system properties

χ Ceti is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the χ Ceti double sysyem:

4.67
6.77
2.1
184 arcsec

Alternative designations of χ Ceti

χ Ceti
(chi Ceti)
SAO148036
SAO148036
Wo 9061 A