Red bright giant · Pegasus

Scheat

Also known as: β Pegasi (β Peg), HIP 113881

mag 2.4200 light-years

About

Scheat (β Pegasi) is a red bright giant of magnitude 2.4 in Pegasus, about 200 light-years away.

Scheat is in the constellation Pegasus.
Best evenings: around late October 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 north of 52° S.
Star patterns: Great Square of Pegasus.

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.

EyesEasy, even from town. Its orange-red tint is plain to see.
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	Scheat
Designation	β Pegasi (β Peg)
Hipparcos number	HIP 113881
Type	Red bright giant
Spectral type	M2II-IIIvar
Colour	Orange-redB−V colour index 1.66
Magnitude	2.4The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	200 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1830.
Proper motion	0.23″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Pegasus
Right ascension (J2000)	23h 03m 46.4s
Declination (J2000)	+28° 04′ 58″