Cepheus is a constellation in the deep northern sky, named after Cepheus, a king of Aethiopia in Greek mythology. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the second century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 constellations in the modern times.
Gamma Cephei is a binary star system approximately 45 light-years away in the northern constellation of Cepheus. The primary is a stellar class K1 orange giant or subgiant star; it has a red dwarf companion. An exoplanet has been confirmed to be orbiting the primary.
Alpha Cephei, officially named Alderamin, is a second magnitude star in the constellation of Cepheus near the northern pole. The star is relatively close to Earth at 49 light years (ly) and drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of about −16 km/s.
Mu Cephei, also known as Herschel's Garnet Star, Erakis, or HD 206936, is a red supergiant or hypergiant star in the constellation Cepheus. It appears garnet red and is located at the edge of the IC 1396 nebula. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as a spectral standard by which other stars are classified.
Delta Cephei is a quadruple star system located approximately 887 light-years away in the northern constellation of Cepheus, the King. At this distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by 0.23 as a result of extinction caused by gas and dust along the line of sight. It is the prototype of the Cepheid variable stars that undergo periodic changes in luminosity.
Beta Cephei variables, also known as Beta Canis Majoris stars, are variable stars that exhibit small rapid variations in their brightness due to pulsations of the stars' surfaces, thought due to the unusual properties of iron at temperatures of 200,000 K in their interiors. These stars are usually hot blue-white stars of spectral class B and should not be confused with Cepheid variables, which are named after Delta Cephei and are luminous supergiant stars.
Beta Cephei is a triple star system of the third magnitude in the constellation of Cepheus. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 690 light-years distant from the Sun. It is the prototype of the Beta Cephei variable stars.
VV Cephei, also known as HD 208816, is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus. It is both a B[e] star and shell star.
V354 Cephei is a red supergiant star located within the Milky Way. It is an irregular variable located over 13,000 light-years away from the Sun. It has an estimated radius of 1,139 solar radii. If it were placed in the center of the Solar System, it would extend to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Eta Cephei is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 3.4, this is a third magnitude star that, according to the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, is readily visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements put it at a distance of 14.37 parsecs from Earth.
Epsilon Cephei, Latinized from ε Cephei, is a star in the northern constellation of Cepheus. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 38.17 mas as seen from the Earth, it is located about 85 light years from the Sun. The star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.18.
Theta Cephei, Latinized from θ Cephei, is a stellar class A7, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Cepheus. This displays at a metallic-line Am star. It is a white-hued, single-lined spectroscopic binary system, located about 127 light-years from Earth. The pair have an orbital period of 2.5 years; the eccentricity was long thought to be low, at 0.03, but recent calculations have put it at a much higher 0.377. They are separated by 4.16 AU. The companion star is calculated to be about 400 times fainter than the primary. It is completely invisible in the spectrum, but is estimated to be a K7 main sequence star.
W Cephei is a spectroscopic binary and variable star located in the constellation Cepheus. It is thought to be a member of the Cep OB1 stellar association at about 8,000 light years. The supergiant primary star is one of the largest known stars and as well as one of the most luminous red supergiants.
MY Cephei is a red supergiant located in open cluster NGC 7419 in the constellation of Cepheus. It is a semiregular variable star with a maximum brightness of magnitude 14.4 and a minimum of magnitude 15.5.
T Cephei is a Mira variable star in the constellation Cepheus. Located approximately 600 light-years distant, it varies between magnitudes 5.2 and 11.3 over a period of around 388 days.
RW Cephei is a K-type hypergiant and a semirregular variable star in the constellation Cepheus, at the edge of the Sharpless 132 H II region and close to the small open cluster Berkeley 94. It is among the largest stars known with a radius of 1,100 times that of the Sun (R☉), nearly as large as the orbit of Jupiter.
V Cephei is a white main sequence star in the constellation Cepheus. It only varies slightly by 0.03 of a magnitude. It was suspected of being variable by American astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler noting in 1890 that it varied by 0.7 magnitude but that it needed more confirmation. Subsequent observers were divided in whether they noted variability or not. A subsequent study with photoelectric photometry showed no variability.
PV Cephei is variable star of Orion type located in the constellation of Cepheus at a distance of over 1600 light-years from Earth.
LZ Cephei, also known by its Flamsteed designation 14 Cephei, is a star about 3,600 light years from the Earth, in the constellation Cepheus. Its apparent magnitude is 5.6, making it faintly visible to the naked eye of an observer far from city lights. The star is a rotating ellipsoidal variable whose brightness, as measured by the Hipparcos satellite, varies between magnitude 5.52 and 5.61.
SS Cephei is a variable star in the constellation Cepheus. It is of spectral type M5IIIvar, and has an estimated temperature of 3,700 °F (2,310 K). The star is 847.18 light-years from Earth. SS Cephei has an apparent magnitude of 7.16.
