Cetus

Head of Cetus

Cetus head

skylore / traditional name · medium confidence

Menkar and nearby third- and fourth-magnitude stars form the whale's head below Pisces and Aries. It is best on quiet autumn nights when the eastern sky is relatively dim.

Central RA: 02^h 38^m 20.3^s
Central Dec: +06° 56′ 57″
Brightest member: V 2.53
Best months from 50°N: September–December evenings
Suggested instrument: naked-eye
Approx. span: 13.1°

Finder context

Use the nearby bright stars to locate the gold box, then move to the larger chart for the pattern itself.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 13.1°; use at least 18.4° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Start with the unaided eye. Suburban skies usually show the main stars.

Binoculars

Binoculars are optional: use them to check colours, nearby doubles, or richer Milky Way background.

Small scope

A telescope is usually too narrow for the whole shape; use it after the pattern has guided you to a target.

Imaging

Frame a 18° field around Cetus to include the pattern and its nearby stars.

Tonight from your latitude

Set your location and date to see a useful window, peak altitude, sky visibility, and Moon conditions. Use Month to compare the season ahead.

Latitude 50°NLongitude -114°Date Month Sky darkness Bortle 4 · limit V 6.1

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Bortle class rates night-sky brightness. The atlas counts a pattern as recognisable when at least 70% of its defining stars are visible.

Bortle 3: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 5/5 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 5/5 stars — fully visible

Moon impact

For 50°N in the best month, green dates mark at least two hours with the pattern above 20° and the Moon below the horizon.

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Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Menkar	92Alp Cet	HR 911	03^h 02^m 16.8^s	+04° 05′ 23″	2.53
86Gam Cet	86Gam Cet	HR 804	02^h 43^m 18.0^s	+03° 14′ 09″	3.47
87Mu Cet	87Mu Cet	HR 813	02^h 44^m 56.5^s	+10° 06′ 51″	4.27
73Xi 2Cet	73Xi 2Cet	HR 718	02^h 28^m 09.5^s	+08° 27′ 36″	4.28
65Xi 1Cet	65Xi 1Cet	HR 649	02^h 13^m 00.0^s	+08° 50′ 48″	4.37

Source and confidence

skylore / traditional name; medium confidence. Traditional or folk name recorded in older star-name literature.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Names and Their Meanings: Allen, R.H. (1899). Public-domain skylore and traditional names.
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.