Constellations · Constellation · Cephei · Cep
Constellation
Cepheus
King Cepheus, husband of Cassiopeia — shaped like a child’s drawing of a house. One of its stars became a ruler for the universe.
- Genitive
- Cephei
- Area
- 588 square degrees · 27th of 88
- Brightest star
- Alderamin · magnitude 2.45
- Naked-eye stars
- 158 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- late August
Discovery
Delta Cephei brightens and fades every 5.4 days. John Goodricke noticed in 1784; Henrietta Leavitt later found that stars like it — Cepheids — reveal their true brightness, and so their distance.
Look for
Herschel’s Garnet Star is one of the reddest stars you can see with the naked eye, a supergiant larger than Betelgeuse.
Did you know
Errai will be the pole star in about 1,000 years, as precession swings the pole away from Polaris.