υ Ceti (upsilon Ceti)

υ Ceti is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Cetus.

υ Ceti visual magnitude is 4. Because of its moderate brightness, υ 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 υ Ceti:

Color of υ Ceti ⬤

Magnitude of υ Ceti 4

Class Hypergiant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW υ Ceti (upsilon Ceti) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 15°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of υ Ceti

υ 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 υ Ceti are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 02h 00m 00s

Declination J2000 -21° 04’ 40”

Galactic Longitude 195.47°

Galactic Latitude -73.25°

Constellation Cetus

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

Simplified finder chart for υ Ceti (upsilon Ceti).

Visibility of υ Ceti from your location

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

Today's υ Ceti (upsilon Ceti) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 111.1° RISE 10:05

Max altitude: 17.4° TRANSIT 14:08

Azimuth: 248.9° SET 18:11

RIGHT NOW υ Ceti (upsilon Ceti) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of υ Ceti

The image below is a photograph of υ 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 υ Ceti is 0.135 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.024 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of υ Ceti. The red arrow shows the motion of υ Ceti during the next 1000 years (2.25 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.40 arcmin in declination);

Distance of υ Ceti from the Sun and relative movement

υ Ceti is distant 300.74 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 18 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 92.25 pc

Distance (light year) 300.74 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 18 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.135 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.024 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of υ Ceti

υ Ceti belongs to spectral class M0 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a hypergiant star.

Absolute magnitude -0.82

Spectral Type M0III

Color Index (B-V) 1.57

Temperature of υ Ceti 3691K

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

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

Alternative designations of υ Ceti

Bayer designation υ Ceti
(upsilon Ceti)

Flamsteed designation 59 Ceti

Henry Draper Catalogue HD12274

SAO Catalogue SAO167471

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP9347

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-21 358

FK5 Catalogue 71

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In Evidence

Other stars in Cetus