Astronomy and Space

Eta Ceti

Eta Ceti is a star in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It has the traditional name Deneb Algenubi or Algenudi; Eta Ceti is its Bayer designation, which is Latinized from η Ceti and abbreviated Eta Cet or η Cet. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +3.4, making it the fourth-brightest star in this otherwise relatively faint constellation and visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star can be measured directly using the parallax technique, yielding a value of 120.5 light-years (36.9 parsecs). It is drifting further from the Sun with a line of sight velocity component of +12 km/s. This is a giant star that has been chosen a standard for the stellar classification of K2−IIIb. It has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and evolved away from the main sequence of stars like the Sun. (The classification is sometimes listed as K1.5 IIICN1Fe0.5, indicating a strong CN star with higher-than-normal abundance of cyanogen and iron relative to other stars of its class.) It is probably on the red giant branch fusing hydrogen in a shell, although there is a possibility that it is a red clump star that is generating energy through the nuclear fusion of helium at its core. Eta Ceti has 1.7 times more mass than the Sun and its surface has expanded to 13 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 74 times as much luminosity as the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,356 K. This heat gives the star the orange-hued glow of a K-type star.

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See also

• ▸Beta Gruis
• ▸Bendix Corporation
• ▸Hakucho

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