Short description: Constellation straddling the celestial equator

CetusConstellation

List of stars in Cetus

Abbreviation| Cet
Genitive| Ceti
Pronunciation| /ˈsiːtəs/, genitive /ˈsiːtaɪ/
Symbolism| the Whale, Shark, or Sea Monster
Right ascension|  00h 26m 22.2486s– 03h 23m 47.1487s[1]
Declination| 10.5143948°–−24.8725095°[1]
Area| 1231 sq. deg. (4th)
Main stars| 14
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars| 88
Stars with planets| 23
Stars brighter than 3.00m| 2
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)| 9
Brightest star| Diphda (β Cet) (2.02m)
Messier objects| 1
Meteor showers| October Cetids
Eta Cetids
Omicron Cetids
Bordering
constellations| Aries
Pisces
Aquarius
Sculptor
Fornax
Eridanus
Taurus
Visible at latitudes between +70° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of November.
Note: †Mira (ο Cet) is magnitude 2.0 at its brightest.

Cetus (/ˈsiːtəs/) is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale' in English. The Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus is in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations: Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus.

## Contents

* 1 Features
* 1.1 Ecliptic
* 1.2 Stars
* 1.3 Deep-sky objects
* 2 History and mythology
* 2.1 In global astronomy
* 3 Namesakes
* 4 Gallery
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Bibliography
* 8 External links

## Features

Cetus annotated with lines (a "stick figure") from a latitude further north (north of its declination), above a horizon, in conditions ideal for observation.

### Ecliptic

Cetus is not among the 12 true zodiac constellations in the J2000 epoch, nor classical 12-part zodiac. The ecliptic passes less than 0.25° from one of its corners. Thus the moon and planets will enter Cetus (occulting any stars as a foreground object) in 50% of their successive orbits briefly and the southern part of the sun appears in Cetus for about one day each year. Many asteroids in belts have longer phases occulting the north-western part of Cetus, those with a slightly greater inclination to the ecliptic than the moon and planets.

As seen from Mars, the ecliptic (apparent plane of the sun and also the average plane of the planets which is almost the same) passes into it.

### Stars

Main page: Astronomy:List of stars in Cetus

Mira ("wonderful", named by Bayer: Omicron Ceti, a star of the neck of the asterism) was the first variable star to be discovered and the prototype of its class, Mira variables. Over a period of 332 days, it reaches a maximum apparent magnitude of 3 - visible to the naked eye - and dips to a minimum magnitude of 10, invisible to the unaided eye. Its seeming appearance and disappearance gave it its name. Mira pulsates with a minimum size of 400 solar diameters and a maximum size of 500 solar diameters. 420 light-years from Earth, it was discovered by David Fabricius in 1596.[2]

α Ceti, traditionally called Menkar ("the nose"), is a red-hued giant star of magnitude 2.5, 220 light-years from Earth. It is a wide double star; the secondary is 93 Ceti, a blue-white hued star of magnitude 5.6, 440 light-years away. β Ceti, also called Deneb Kaitos and Diphda is the brightest star in Cetus. It is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 2.0, 96 light-years from Earth. The traditional name "Deneb Kaitos" means "the whale's tail". γ Ceti, Kaffaljidhma ("head of the whale") is a very close double star. The primary is a yellow-hued star of magnitude 3.5, 82 light-years from Earth, and the secondary is a blue-hued star of magnitude 6.6.[2] Tau Ceti is noted for being a near Sun-like star at a distance of 11.9 light-years. It is a yellow-hued main-sequence star of magnitude 3.5.

AA Ceti is a triple star system; the brightest member has a magnitude of 6.2. The primary and secondary are separated by 8.4 arcseconds at an angle of 304 degrees. The tertiary is not visible in telescopes. AA Ceti is an eclipsing variable star; the tertiary star passes in front of the primary and causes the system's apparent magnitude to decrease by 0.5 magnitudes.[3] UV Ceti is an unusual binary variable star. 8.7 light-years from Earth, the system consists of two red dwarfs. Both of magnitude 13. One of the stars is a flare star, which are prone to sudden, random outbursts that last several minutes; these increase the pair's apparent brightness significantly - as high as magnitude 7.[2]

### Deep-sky objects

Messier 77 spiral galaxy - HST (Hubble Space Telescope).[4]

File:Himmelsglob, 1602 - Skoklosters slott - 102439.tif Cetus lies far from the galactic plane, so that many distant galaxies are visible, unobscured by dust from the Milky Way. Of these, the brightest is Messier 77 (NGC 1068), a 9th magnitude spiral galaxy near Delta Ceti. It appears face-on and has a clearly visible nucleus of magnitude 10. About 50 million light-years from Earth, M77 is also a Seyfert galaxy and thus a bright object in the radio spectrum.[2] Recently, the galactic cluster JKCS 041 was confirmed to be the most distant cluster of galaxies yet discovered.[5]

The massive cD galaxy Holmberg 15A is also found in Cetus. As is spiral galaxy NGC 1042 and ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC 1052-DF2.

IC 1613 (Caldwell 51) is an irregular dwarf galaxy near the star 26 Ceti and is a member of the Local Group.

NGC 246 (Caldwell 56), also called the Cetus Ring, is a planetary nebula with a magnitude of 8.0, 1600 light-years from Earth. Among some amateur astronomers, NGC 246 has garnered the nickname "Pac-Man Nebula" because of the arrangement of its central stars and the surrounding star field.[6]

The Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) is a barred irregular galaxy discovered in 1909 by Max Wolf, located on the outer edges of the Local Group. The discovery of the nature of the galaxy was accredited to Knut Lundmark and Philibert Jacques Melotte in 1926. It is in the constellation Cetus.

## History and mythology

Cetus dominates this card from Urania's Mirror (1825) as if looking up towards the celestial sphere (east is left of frame). Uses the modern custom: celestial maps to be held skywards while facing south.

An alike depiction from Celestial Atlas (A. Jamieson) (1822)

Cetus may have originally been associated with a whale, which would have had mythic status amongst Mesopotamian cultures. It is often now called the Whale, though it is most strongly associated with Cetus the sea-monster, who was slain by Perseus as he saved the princess Andromeda from Poseidon's wrath. It is in the middle of "The Sea" recognised by mythologists, a set of water-associated constellations, its other members being Eridanus, Pisces, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius.[7]

Cetus has been depicted in many ways throughout its history. In the 17th century, Cetus was depicted as a "dragon fish" by Johann Bayer. Both Willem Blaeu and Andreas Cellarius depicted Cetus as a whale-like creature in the same century. However, Cetus has also been variously depicted with animal heads attached to a piscine body.[7]

### In global astronomy

In Chinese astronomy, the stars of Cetus are found among two areas: the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ) and the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ).

The Tukano and Kobeua people of the Amazon used the stars of Cetus to create a jaguar, representing the god of hurricanes and other violent storms. Lambda, Mu, Xi, Nu, Gamma, and Alpha Ceti represented its head; Omicron, Zeta, and Chi Ceti represented its body; Eta Eri, Tau Cet, and Upsilon Cet marked its legs and feet; and Theta, Eta, and Beta Ceti delineated its tail.[7]

In Hawaii, the constellation was called Na Kuhi, and Mira (Omicron Ceti) may have been called Kane.[8]

## Namesakes

USS Cetus (AK-77) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the constellation. "Cetus" is the title of a ragtime piano composition by Tom Brier on the album Constellations and a 1967 electronic composition by Olly Wilson.

## Gallery

* The interacting galaxy pair IC 1623, which lies around 275 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale).[9]

## See also

* Cetus (Chinese astronomy)
* Book of Jonah

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cetus, constellation boundary". The Constellations (International Astronomical Union). http://www.iau.org/public/constellations/#cet. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ridpath & Tirion 2001, pp. 114-116.
3. ↑ Levy 2005, p. 67.
4. ↑ "Hubble observes the hidden depths of Messier 77". ESA/Hubble. http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1305/.
5. ↑ "Scientists identify new". Metro. 23 October 2009. http://www.metro.co.uk/news/756711-scientists-identify-new-galaxy.
6. ↑ Levy 2005, p. 129.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Staal 1988, pp. 33–35
8. ↑ Makemson 1941, p. 281.
9. ↑ "Clash of the Titans". https://esahubble.org/images/potw2125a/.

## Bibliography

* Levy, David H. (2005). Deep Sky Objects. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-361-0. https://archive.org/details/deepskyobjects00davi.
* Makemson, Maud Worcester (1941). The Morning Star Rises: an account of Polynesian astronomy. Yale University Press. Bibcode: 1941msra.book.....M.
* Ridpath, Ian; Tirion, Wil (2001), Stars and Planets Guide, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08913-2
* Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN:978-0-00-725120-9. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN:978-0-691-13556-4
* Staal, Julius D.W. (1988). The New Patterns in the Sky. The McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company. ISBN 0-939923-04-1.

## External links

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cetus.

|

* The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Cetus
* The clickable Cetus
* Star Tales – Cetus
* Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (over 170 medieval and early modern images of Cetus)

* v
* t
* e

Cetus constellation

Stars
(list)|

| Bayer|

* α (Menkar)
* β (Diphda)
* γ (Kaffaljidhma)
* δ
* ε
* ζ (Baten Kaitos)
* η
* θ
* ι
* κ1
* κ2
* λ
* μ
* ν
* ξ1
* ξ2
* ο (Mira)
* π
* ρ
* σ
* τ
* υ
* φ1
* φ2
* φ3
* φ4
* χ

|

Flamsteed|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 6
* 7
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 18
* 20
* 21
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 32
* 33
* 34
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40
* 41
* 42
* 43
* 44
* 46
* 47
* 48
* 49
* 50
* 56
* 57
* 58
* 60
* 61
* 62
* 63
* 64
* 66
* 67
* 69
* 70
* 71
* 75
* 77
* 79
* 80
* 81
* 84
* 93
* 94
* 95
* 25 Ari

Variable|

* T
* RR
* TV
* TW
* UU
* VZ (Mira B)
* WW
* WX
* XY
* XZ
* YZ
* ZZ
* AA
* AB
* AD
* AR
* BG
* BK
* CF
* DK
* EH
* EL
* EO
* ES

HR|

* 9
* 10
* 12
* 16
* 31
* 37
* 51
* 61
* 66
* 72
* 108
* 115
* 118
* 150
* 159
* 172
* 173
* 174
* 190
* 197
* 201
* 206
* 210
* 218
* 220
* 227
* 228
* 232
* 247
* 251
* 263
* 320
* 325
* 387
* 388
* 392
* 394
* 404
* 405
* 406
* 416
* 425
* 448
* 466
* 473
* 492
* 500
* 507
* 513
* 560
* 608
* 611
* 616
* 625
* 638
* 651
* 672
* 684
* 692
* 693
* 697
* 713
* 719
* 725
* 732
* 735
* 737
* 745
* 751
* 766
* 770
* 775
* 783
* 784
* 795
* 796
* 816
* 870
* 908
* 926
* 942
* 9054
* 9095
* 9096
* 9101

HD|

* 1690
* 1879
* 2268
* 2638
* 4747
* 5319
* 6037
* 6718
* 7449
* 8713
* 8896
* 9690
* 9731
* 10024
* 10725
* 11365
* 11396
* 11506
* 11964
* 12116
* 12702
* 13004
* 13546
* 13763
* 15115
* 16008
* 16031
* 17001
* 224349
* 224693 (Axólotl)

Gliese|

* Gliese 40
* Gliese 105
* GJ 1002
* GJ 1005
* GJ 1057
* GJ 2012

Other|

* BD−17 63
* Cayrel's Star
* CFBDS J005910.90–011401.3
* CS 31082-001
* DENIS-P J020529.0−115925
* GD 40
* HIP 5158
* HIP 11952
* L 870-2
* LHS 1140
* Luyten 726-8 (UV/BL)
* NGC 156
* NGC 302
* NGC 308
* NGC 310
* PSR B0031−07
* PSR J0034−0534
* PSR J0108−1431
* SDSS J001820.5−093939.2
* SDSS J0106−1000
* ULAS J003402.77−005206.7
* WD J2356-209
* WASP-26
* WASP-44
* WASP-71
* WISE J0254+0223

Nebulae|

| Planetary|

* BoBn 1
* NGC 246

|

Galaxies|

| Messier|

* 77

|

NGC|

* 17
* 35
* 45
* 47
* 50
* 54
* 59
* 61
* 62
* 64
* 65
* 66
* 73
* 77
* 102
* 107
* 113
* 114
* 117
* 118
* 120
* 124
* 132
* 135
* 142
* 143
* 144
* 145
* 151
* 154
* 155
* 157
* 161
* 163
* 165
* 166
* 167
* 168
* 170
* 171
* 172
* 173
* 177
* 178
* 179
* 187
* 191
* 192
* 195
* 196
* 197
* 201
* 207
* 209
* 210
* 216
* 217
* 219
* 223
* 227
* 230
* 232
* 235A
* 235B
* 237
* 239
* 244
* 245
* 247
* 255
* 259
* 263
* 268
* 270
* 271
* 273
* 274
* 275
* 276
* 277
* 279
* 283
* 284
* 285
* 286
* 291
* 293
* 297
* 298
* 301
* 303
* 307
* 309
* 320
* 321
* 325
* 327
* 329
* 331
* 333
* 333B
* 335
* 336
* 337
* 337A
* 340
* 341
* 341B
* 342
* 343
* 344
* 345
* 347
* 349
* 350
* 351
* 352
* 353
* 355
* 356
* 357
* 359
* 363
* 364
* 367
* 369
* 377
* 391
* 413
* 417
* 426
* 428
* 429
* 430
* 435
* 442
* 445
* 448
* 450
* 478
* 480
* 481
* 487
* 493
* 497
* 519
* 521
* 530
* 533
* 535
* 538
* 539
* 540
* 541
* 543
* 545
* 547
* 548
* 550
* 554A
* 554B
* 555
* 556
* 557
* 558
* 560
* 564
* 565
* 567
* 570
* 577
* 578
* 583
* 584
* 585
* 586
* 589
* 593
* 594
* 596
* 599
* 600
* 601
* 615
* 617
* 622
* 624
* 635
* 636
* 640
* 647
* 648
* 649
* 655
* 667
* 681
* 682
* 690
* 699
* 701
* 702
* 707
* 713
* 715
* 720
* 725
* 726
* 731
* 734
* 747
* 748
* 755
* 756
* 758
* 762
* 767
* 768
* 773
* 779
* 787
* 788
* 790
* 799
* 800
* 806
* 808
* 809
* 811
* 814
* 815
* 825
* 827
* 829
* 830
* 831
* 833
* 835
* 836
* 837
* 838
* 839
* 840
* 842
* 844
* 848
* 849
* 850
* 851
* 853
* 858
* 859
* 863
* 864
* 867
* 868
* 872
* 873
* 874
* 878
* 879
* 880
* 881
* 883
* 887
* 892
* 894
* 895
* 899
* 902
* 905
* 907
* 908
* 921
* 926
* 929
* 934
* 936
* 941
* 942
* 943
* 944
* 945
* 947
* 948
* 950
* 951
* 955
* 958
* 960
* 963
* 965
* 966
* 967
* 975
* 977
* 981
* 985
* 988
* 989
* 991
* 993
* 997
* 998
* 1004
* 1007
* 1008
* 1009
* 1010
* 1011
* 1013
* 1015
* 1016
* 1017
* 1018
* 1019
* 1020
* 1021
* 1022
* 1026
* 1032
* 1033
* 1034
* 1035
* 1038
* 1041
* 1042
* 1043
* 1044
* 1045
* 1046
* 1047
* 1048
* 1048A
* 1051
* 1052
* 1055
* 1063
* 1064
* 1065
* 1069
* 1070
* 1071
* 1072
* 1073
* 1074
* 1075
* 1076
* 1078
* 1080
* 1085
* 1087
* 1090
* 1094
* 1095
* 1101
* 1104
* 1105
* 1107
* 1128
* 1137
* 1141
* 1142
* 1149
* 1153
* 1194
* 1211
* 1218
* 1219
* 1254
* 1280
* 7807
* 7808
* 7813
* 7821
* 7828
* 7829

Other|

* Arp 147
* Arp 256
* 3C 15
* 3C 17
* 3C 75
* Cetus Dwarf Spheroidal galaxy
* HCM-6A
* Holmberg 15A
* IC 1613
* IRAS F01475-0740
* Markarian 573
* Markarian 1014
* Markarian 1018
* Markarian 1044
* NAB 0205+024
* PHL 938
* PKS 0048-097
* PKS 0106+013
* PKS 0119-046
* PKS 0139-097
* PKS 0215+015
* PKS 0237-233
* PKS 0306+102
* QSO B0137+012
* QSO B0302-003
* SDSS J0303-0019
* SMM J02399-0136
* SXDF-NB1006-2
* 9Spitch
* Ton S180
* UM 673
* VV 114
* Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte

Galaxy
clusters|

* Abell 85
* Abell 119
* Abell 133
* Abell 151
* Abell 168
* Abell 194
* Abell 209
* Abell 222
* Abell 223
* Abell 267
* Abell 370
* Abell 400
* HCG 16
* IRC 0218
* JKCS 041
* RX J0152.7-1357

Other|

* GRB 000911
* GRB 041006
* GRB 050908
* GRB 060908
* GRB 091127
* SN 1984L
* SN 2005gj
* SN 2005hk

* v
* t
* e

The 88 modern constellations

* Andromeda
* Antlia
* Apus
* Aquarius
* Aquila
* Ara
* Aries
* Auriga
* Boötes
* Caelum
* Camelopardalis
* Cancer
* Canes Venatici
* Canis Major
* Canis Minor
* Capricornus
* Carina
* Cassiopeia
* Centaurus
* Cepheus
* Cetus
* Chamaeleon
* Circinus
* Columba
* Coma Berenices
* Corona Australis
* Corona Borealis
* Corvus
* Crater
* Crux
* Cygnus
* Delphinus
* Dorado
* Draco
* Equuleus
* Eridanus
* Fornax
* Gemini
* Grus
* Hercules
* Horologium
* Hydra
* Hydrus
* Indus
* Lacerta
* Leo
* Leo Minor
* Lepus
* Libra
* Lupus
* Lynx
* Lyra
* Mensa
* Microscopium
* Monoceros
* Musca
* Norma
* Octans
* Ophiuchus
* Orion
* Pavo
* Pegasus
* Perseus
* Phoenix
* Pictor
* Pisces
* Piscis Austrinus
* Puppis
* Pyxis
* Reticulum
* Sagitta
* Sagittarius
* Scorpius
* Sculptor
* Scutum
* Serpens
* Sextans
* Taurus
* Telescopium
* Triangulum
* Triangulum Australe
* Tucana
* Ursa Major
* Ursa Minor
* Vela
* Virgo
* Volans
* Vulpecula

* Lists of constellations

* v
* t
* e

Constellation history

* v
* t
* e

The 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy after 150 AD

* Andromeda
* Aquarius
* Aquila
* Ara
* Argo Navis
* Aries
* Auriga
* Boötes
* Cancer
* Canis Major
* Canis Minor
* Capricornus
* Cassiopeia
* Centaurus
* Cepheus
* Cetus
* Corona Australis
* Corona Borealis
* Corvus
* Crater
* Cygnus
* Delphinus
* Draco
* Equuleus
* Eridanus
* Gemini
* Hercules
* Hydra
* Leo
* Lepus
* Libra
* Lupus
* Lyra
* Ophiuchus
* Orion
* Pegasus
* Perseus
* Pisces
* Piscis Austrinus
* Sagitta
* Sagittarius
* Scorpius
* Serpens
* Taurus
* Triangulum
* Ursa Major
* Ursa Minor
* Virgo

* v
* t
* e

The 41 additional constellations added in the 16th and 17th centuries

* Vespucci or Corsalius early 16c: Crux
* Triangulum Australe
* Vopel 1536: Coma Berenices
* Keyser & de Houtman 1596: Apus
* Chamaeleon
* Dorado
* Grus
* Hydrus
* Indus
* Musca
* Pavo
* Phoenix
* Tucana
* Volans
* Plancius 1613: Camelopardalis
* Columba
* Monoceros
* Habrecht 1621: Reticulum
* Hevelius 1683: Canes Venatici
* Lacerta
* Leo Minor
* Lynx
* Scutum
* Sextans
* Vulpecula
* de Lacaille 1763: Antlia
* Caelum
* Carina
* Circinus
* Fornax
* Horologium
* Mensa
* Microscopium
* Norma
* Octans
* Pictor
* Puppis
* Pyxis
* Sculptor
* Telescopium
* Vela

* v
* t
* e

Obsolete constellations (including Ptolemy's Argo Navis)

* Anser
* Antinous
* Apes
* Argo Navis
* Asterion
* Cancer Minor
* Cerberus
* Chara
* Custos Messium
* Felis
* Frederici Honores/Gloria Frederici
* Gallus
* Globus Aerostaticus
* Jordanus
* Lilium
* Lochium Funis
* Machina Electrica
* Malus
* Mons Maenalus
* Musca Borealis
* Noctua
* Officina Typographica
* Polophylax
* Psalterium Georgianum/Harpa Georgii
* Quadrans Muralis
* Ramus Pomifer
* Robur Carolinum
* Sceptrum Brandenburgicum
* Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae
* Solarium
* Rangifer/Tarandus
* Taurus Poniatovii
* Telescopium Herschelii
* Testudo
* Tigris
* Triangulum Minus
* Turdus Solitarius
* Vespa
* Vultur cadens
* Vultur volans

* obsolete constellation names

* Apis
* Phoenicopterus
* Serpentarius
* Xiphias

Coordinates:  01h 25m 12s, −11° 21′ 00″

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