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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
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Cepheus » 

λ Cephei (lambda Cephei)

Altitude: 41.4°   Azimuth: 42.6°   Direction: North-East

λ Cephei is a variable supergiant star in the constellation of Cepheus.

λ Cephei visual magnitude is 5.04. Because of its reltive faintness, λ 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 λ Cephei:

5.04
Supergiant

λ Cephei (lambda Cephei) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 41.4°
Azimuth: 42.6°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of λ Cephei

λ Cephei is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of λ Cephei are provided in the following table:

22h 11m 30s
+59° 24’ 51”
103.83°
2.61°
Cepheus

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

Finder chart λ Cephei (lambda Cephei) star
Simplified finder chart for λ Cephei (lambda Cephei).

Visibility of λ Cephei from your location

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

λ Cephei (lambda Cephei) is circumpolar and transits at 17:06 UTC (altitude: 82.1°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of λ Cephei

The image below is a photograph of λ 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 λ Cephei is 0.003 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.011 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of λ Cephei (lambda Cephei) star
DSS2 image of λ Cephei. The red arrow shows the motion of λ Cephei during the next 10000 years (0.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.83 arcmin in declination);

Distance of λ Cephei from the Sun and relative movement

λ Cephei is distant 1,646.46 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 74 kilometers per second.

505.05 pc
1,646.46 ly
-74 km/s
0.003 arcsec/year
-0.011 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of λ Cephei

λ Cephei belongs to spectral class O6 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a supergiant star.

-3.48
O6I
7795K

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

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

Alternative designations of λ Cephei

λ Cephei
(lambda Cephei)
SAO34149
SAO34149