Orange giant · Cetus

Baten Kaitos

Also known as: ζ Ceti (ζ Cet), HIP 8645

mag 3.7240 light-years

About

Baten Kaitos (ζ Ceti) is an orange giant of magnitude 3.7 in Cetus, about 240 light-years away.

Baten Kaitos is in the constellation Cetus.
Best evenings: around early December it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 70° N.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Baten Kaitos
Designation	ζ Ceti (ζ Cet)
Hipparcos number	HIP 8645
Type	Orange giant
Spectral type	K2III
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 1.14
Magnitude	3.7The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	240 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1790.
Proper motion	0.054″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Cetus
Right ascension (J2000)	01h 51m 27.6s
Declination (J2000)	−10° 20′ 06″