Zeta Cephei, an orange supergiant star in Cepheus
Zeta Cephei is an orange supergiant star in the constellation Cepheus. At 835 light years away, it is the 256th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.39.
Zeta Cephei (HIP 109492)
Zeta Cephei is an orange supergiant star in the constellation Cepheus. At 835 light years away, it is the 256th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.39. The iron abundance of Zeta Cephei is +0.04 (109.6% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 25 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 21,700 and 24,500 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It will come closest to the Sun 7.1 million years from now when it will brighten to magnitude 2.62 from a distance of 587 light years.
Sky position: RA 22h 10.9m, Dec +58° 12'
Common designations: Zeta Cephei, 21 Cephei, HIP 109492, HD 210745, HR 8465
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Brightest stars in Cepheus:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 2.45 | Alderamin |
| 2 | 3.21 | Alrai |
| 3 | 3.23 | Alfirk |
4
| 3.39
) Zeta Cephei
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 5 | 3.41 | Eta Cephei |
| 6 | 3.50 | Iota Cephei |
| 7 | 4.07 | Delta Cephei |
| 8 | 4.18 | Epsilon Cephei |
| 9 | 4.21 | Theta Cephei |
| 10 | 4.23 | Erakis |
| 11 | 4.24 | 2 Ursae Minoris |
| 12 | 4.25 | Nu Cephei |
| 13 | 4.26 | Alkurhah |
| 14 | 4.38 | Kappa Cephei |
| 15 | 4.41 | Pi Cephei |
| 16 | 4.52 | Upsilon-1 Cephei |
| 17 | 4.55 | 11 Cephei |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Zeta Cephei
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 6.0% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -154.3°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,082 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,069 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 428 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 7,056 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,654 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,510 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Zeta Cephei
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 332.71359145° ±0.08 mas | 13.51 ±0.10 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 58.20124993° ±0.08 mas | 5.22 ±0.09 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 103.06241789° | 14.06 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 1.66530718° | -3.47 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 3.90 ± 0.10 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: K1Ib 1990A&AS...85.1069S.
Radial Velocity: -17.83 ±0.12 km/s [A rating] 2005A&A...430..165F.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
0.04 dex
2007A&A...475.1003H, 1998A&A...338..623M, 1982ApJ...256..177L.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 4.95 | -2.09 |
| V | 3.39 | -3.65 |
| R | ||
| I | 1.95 | -5.09 |
| J | 1.23 | -5.81 |
| H | 0.43 | -6.62 |
| K | 0.34 | -6.70 |
B-V: +1.56 V-I: +1.44
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 256.21 pc (2.6% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,462 pc
Transverse velocity: 17.6 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -57.9 pc | 249.5 pc | 7.4 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -12.6 km/s | -21.1 km/s | -4.7 km/s |