Constellation Whale (Cetus)
Whale is one of the 88 constellations that carve up the sky. It sits along the celestial equator and rides highest overhead around October.
Bright stars in Whale
| Name | Bayer | Magnitude | Type | Distance (ly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphda | beta Cet | 2.04 | K0III | 96.0 |
About the constellation
The constellation Whale (Latin Cetus) lies along the celestial equator. It passes highest around midnight in October, so the weeks around then are the easiest time to track it down. Its brightest star is Diphda, at magnitude 2.0, best seen under a reasonably dark sky. From most of the southern hemisphere it climbs into view at some point in the year. Astronomers label its stars with the genitive form Ceti, as in "Alpha Ceti".
Other constellations
And Ant Aps Aql Aqr Ara Ari Aur Boo Cae Cam Cnc CVn CMa CMi Cap Car Cas Cen Cep Cha Cir Col Com CrA CrB Crv Crt Cru Cyg Del Dor Dra Equ Eri For Gem Gru Her Hor Hya Hyi Ind Lac Leo LMi Lep Lib Lup Lyn Lyr Men Mic Mon Mus Nor Oct Oph Ori Pav Peg Per Phe Pic Psc PsA Pup Pyx Ret Sge Sgr Sco Scl Sct Ser Sex Tau Tel Tri TrA Tuc UMa UMi Vel Vir Vol Vul