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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: 7:51  
clear_day Transit: 11:50  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
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All Constellations » Perseus » 

Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei)

Altitude: 73.6°   Azimuth: 159.8°   Direction: South-South-East

Menkib, also designated as ξ Persei (xi Persei), is a variable giant star in the constellation of Perseus.

Menkib visual magnitude is 4.04. Because of its moderate brightness, Menkib 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 Menkib:

4.04
Giant

Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 73.6°
Azimuth: 159.8°
Direction: South-South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Menkib

Menkib 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 Menkib are provided in the following table:

03h 58m 57s
+35° 47’ 27”
160.37°
-13.11°
Perseus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Menkib in the sky:

Finder chart Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei) star
Simplified finder chart for Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei).

Visibility of Menkib 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 Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei) 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: 54.2°
Max altitude: 74.3°
Azimuth: 305.8°

Digitized Sky Survey image of Menkib

The image below is a photograph of Menkib 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 Menkib is 0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Menkib - ξ Persei (xi Persei) star
DSS2 image of Menkib. The red arrow shows the motion of Menkib during the next 100000 years (3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Menkib from the Sun and relative movement

Menkib is distant 1,771.74 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 70 kilometers per second.

543.48 pc
1,771.74 ly
70 km/s
0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Menkib

Menkib belongs to spectral class O7 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-4.64
O7III
10002K

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

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

Alternative designations of Menkib

Menkib
ξ Persei
(xi Persei)
SAO56856
SAO56856