Caph is the yellow-white star at the western end of the W of Cassiopeia, a star that pulses in brightness by a tiny amount every few hours.
At a glance
| type | yellow-white star (class F) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 54.7 light-years (16.8 pc) |
| its light left it | 54.7 years ago |
| luminosity | 30.4 × the Sun |
| radius | 3.69 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 7,050 K |
| constellation | Cassiopeia (Seated Queen) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Caph
Caph is a class F star a little hotter than the Sun and several times its size, a star that has used up the hydrogen in its core and begun to swell. It is a Delta Scuti variable: its surface pulsates rapidly, and its brightness rises and falls by an amount far too small for the eye, though instruments follow it easily.
The name comes from the Arabic for the hand, part of an old description of a hand stained with henna that reached across this part of the sky. In the familiar W of Cassiopeia, Caph is the end star nearest Pegasus, and with Schedar, Cih, Ruchbah and Segin it completes the zigzag that circles the pole for northern observers.
What you see in the piece
Caph is one of the nearer stars of the W, so when you fly towards Cassiopeia it pulls away from the others first, and the zigzag collapses into scattered points.
Questions
Which star is Caph in Cassiopeia?
Caph is the star at the western end of the W, the one nearest the Great Square of Pegasus.
How far away is Caph?
Caph is 54.7 light-years (16.8 pc) from the Sun.