Cetus constellation
Latin Cetus, genitive Ceti, abbreviation Cet
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
Not a whale but Cetus, the sea monster that was to devour Andromeda; Perseus turned it to stone with the head of Medusa. In it lies Mira, 'the wonderful': in a rhythm of about eleven months it becomes visible to the naked eye and fades again.
When can Cetus be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in November. It can be seen from everywhere south of 77°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diphda | β Cet | 2.04 | orange |
| Menkar | α Cet | 2.53 | reddish |
| Mira | ο Cet | 3.04 | reddish |
| Dheneb | η Cet | 3.45 | orange |
| Kaffaljidhma | γ Cet | 3.47 | white |
| – | τ Cet | 3.50 | yellow |
| Deneb Kaitos Shemali | ι Cet | 3.56 | orange |
| Al Naymat | θ Cet | 3.60 | orange |
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).