Eta Ceti (η Cet, η Ceti) is a star in the

equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

constellation of

Cetus Cetus () is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale' in English. The Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus is in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellat ...

. It has the traditional name Deneb Algenubi or Algenudi. The

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of this star is +3.4, making it the fourth-brightest star in this otherwise relatively faint constellation. The distance to this star can be measured directly using the parallax technique, yielding a value of . This is a

giant star A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press ...

that has been chosen a standard for the stellar classification of K2−IIIb. It has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

away from the main sequence of stars like the Sun. (The classification is sometimes listed as K1.5 IIICN1Fe0.5, indicating a strong

CN star A CN star has unusually strong cyanogen bands in its spectrum compared to other stars of its stellar class. Cyanogen is a simple molecule of one carbon atom and one nitrogen atom, with absorption bands around wavelengths 388.9 and . This group of ...

with higher than normal abundance of

cyanogen Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the formula ( C N)2. It is a colorless and highly toxic gas with a pungent odor. The molecule is a pseudohalogen. Cyanogen molecules consist of two CN groups – analogous to diatomic halogen molecu ...

and iron relative to other stars of its class.) It is a

red clump Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

star that is generating energy through the

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manife ...

of helium at its core. Eta Ceti may have slightly more mass than the Sun and its outer envelope has expanded to 15 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 74 times as much luminosity as the Sun from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 4,356 K. This heat gives the star the orange-hued glow of a

K-type star In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the ...

In culture

The name ''Deneb Algenubi'' was from Arabic ذنب القيطس الجنوبي - al-dhanab al-qayṭas al-janūbī, meaning ''the southern tail of the sea monster''. In the catalogue of stars in the ''Calendarium'' of

Al Achsasi al Mouakket Muḥammad al-Akhṣāṣī al-Muwaqqit ( ar, محمد الاخصاصي الموقت) was an Egyptian astronomer whose and catalogue of stars, ('Pearls of brilliance upon the solar operations'), was written at Cairo about 1650. Al-Akhsasi was a s ...

, this star was designated Aoul al Naamat (أول ألنعمة - ''awwil al naʽāmāt''), which was translated into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as Prima Struthionum, meaning ''the first ostrich''. This star, along with θ Cet (Thanih al Naamat), τ Cet (Thalath Al Naamat), ζ Cet (Baten Kaitos) and υ Cet, were Al Naʽāmāt (ألنعمة), the Hen Ostriches. In

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, (), meaning '' Square Celestial Granary'', refers to an asterism consisting of η Ceti, ι Ceti, θ Ceti, ζ Ceti, τ Ceti and 57 Ceti. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are ofte ...

for η Ceti itself is (, en, the Second Star of Square Celestial Granary.)

Planetary system

In 2014, two exoplanets around the star were discovered using the radial velocity method. Planets discovered by radial velocity have poorly known masses because if the orbit of the planets were inclined away from the line of sight, a much larger mass would have to compensate for the angle. Eta Ceti b has a minimum mass of and an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 403.5 days (about 1.1 years), while Eta Ceti c has a minimum mass of and an orbital period of 751.9 days (2.06 years). Assuming the orbits of the two are

coplanar In geometry, a set of points in space are coplanar if there exists a geometric plane that contains them all. For example, three points are always coplanar, and if the points are distinct and non-collinear, the plane they determine is unique. How ...

, then the two planets must be locked in a 2:1

orbital resonance In celestial mechanics, orbital resonance occurs when orbiting bodies exert regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other, usually because their orbital periods are related by a ratio of small integers. Most commonly, this relationsh ...

, otherwise the system would become dynamically unstable. Although the inclinations from the line of sight are unknown, the value is constrained to be 70° or less: if any higher, the higher masses would render the system dynamically unstable, with no stable solutions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eta Ceti K-type giants CN stars Cetus (constellation) Ceti, Eta BD–10 240 Ceti, 31 005364 0334 006805 Aoul al Naamat J01083539-1010560