Cepheus constellation
Latin Cepheus, genitive Cephei, abbreviation Cep
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda. His constellation looks like a house with a pointed roof, the way children draw one. In it stands Delta Cephei, a star that swells and shrinks every five days or so; such stars taught us to measure distances in the universe.
When can Cepheus be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in September. It can be seen from everywhere north of 15°S, and it never sets north of 33°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alderamin | α Cep | 2.44 | white |
| Errai | γ Cep | 3.21 | orange |
| Alfirk | β Cep | 3.23 | bluish |
| – | ζ Cep | 3.35 | reddish |
| Kabalfird | η Cep | 3.43 | yellow |
| – | ι Cep | 3.52 | orange |
| – | δ Cep | 3.75 | yellow |
| The Garnet Star | μ Cep | 4.08 | reddish |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).