Alderamin is the brightest star of Cepheus, a fast-spinning white star that the slow wobble of the Earth’s axis will one day make the pole star.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 49 light-years (15 pc) |
| its light left it | 49 years ago |
| luminosity | 21.6 × the Sun |
| radius | 2.52 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 7,850 K |
| constellation | Cepheus (King) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Alderamin
It is a white star of class A, hotter and larger than the Sun. It rotates very fast, so fast that it bulges at its equator and is flattened at the poles. It lies close to the Sun, among the nearer bright stars of the northern sky.
Its name comes from the Arabic al-dhirāʿ al-yamīn, “the right arm”, for the king’s arm in the figure. The Earth’s axis slowly traces a circle on the sky; Errai will be the pole star first, and Alderamin will come close to the pole later in the same cycle.
What you see in the piece
Alderamin is a near neighbour, drawn bright and white at its true distance. Fly out and the house-shaped figure of Cepheus comes apart, its stars at very different depths.
Questions
Will Alderamin become the pole star?
Yes. As the Earth’s axis slowly swings around, the north celestial pole will pass near Alderamin, after first passing near Errai.