ι Cephei (iota Cephei)

ι Cephei is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Cepheus.

ι Cephei visual magnitude is 3.52. Because of its moderate brightness, ι Cephei 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 ι Cephei:

Color of ι Cephei ⬤

Magnitude of ι Cephei 3.52

Class Hypergiant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW ι Cephei (iota Cephei) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 55°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ι Cephei

ι 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 ι Cephei are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 22h 49m 40s

Declination J2000 +66° 12’ 02”

Galactic Longitude 111.07°

Galactic Latitude 6.18°

Constellation Cepheus

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

Finder chart ι Cephei (iota Cephei) star

Simplified finder chart for ι Cephei (iota Cephei).

Visibility of ι Cephei from your location

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

ι Cephei (iota Cephei) is circumpolar and transits at 10:11 UTC (altitude: 75.3°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of ι Cephei

The image below is a photograph of ι 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 ι Cephei is -0.065 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.125 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of ι Cephei. The red arrow shows the motion of ι Cephei during the next 1000 years (-1.08 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.08 arcmin in declination);

Distance of ι Cephei from the Sun and relative movement

ι Cephei is distant 115.32 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 12 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 35.37 pc

Distance (light year) 115.32 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -12 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.065 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.125 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ι Cephei

ι Cephei belongs to spectral class K0 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a hypergiant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.78

Spectral Type K0III

Color Index (B-V) 1.05

Temperature of ι Cephei 4626K

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

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

Alternative designations of ι Cephei

Bayer designation ι Cephei
(iota Cephei)

Flamsteed designation 32 Cephei

Henry Draper Catalogue HD216228

SAO Catalogue SAO20268

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP112724

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+65 1814

FK5 Catalogue 863

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In Evidence

Other stars in Cepheus