Zeta Ceti
Zeta Ceti (ζ Ceti, abbreviated Zeta Cet, ζ Cet), also named Baten Kaitos,[1] is a star in the constellation of Cetus. It is approximately 260 light years from the Earth.
Nomenclature
ζ Ceti (Latinised to Zeta Ceti) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name Baten Kaitos, derived from the Arabic بطن قيتوس batn qaytus "belly of the sea monster". In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[2] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Baten Kaitos for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.[1]
In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Rabah al Naamat رابع ألنعامة raabi3 al naʽāmāt, which was translated into Latin as Quarta Struthionum, meaning "the fourth ostrich".[3]
This star, along with Eta Ceti (Deneb Algenubi), Theta Ceti (Thanih Al Naamat), Tau Ceti (Thalath Al Naamat), and Upsilon Ceti, were Al Naʽāmāt (ألنعامة), "the Hen Ostriches".[4][5]
In Chinese, 天倉 (Tiān Cāng), meaning Square Celestial Granary, refers to an asterism consisting of Zeta Ceti, Iota Ceti, Theta Ceti, Eta Ceti, Tau Ceti and 57 Ceti.[6] Consequently, Zeta Ceti itself is known as 天倉四 (Tiān Cāng sì, English: the Second Star of Square Celestial Granary.)[7]
Properties
Zeta Ceti is a yellowish star of spectral class K0 IIIBa0.1. Its apparent magnitude is +3.9.
- Coordinates for the equinox J2000:
- Right ascension: 01h 51m 28s
- Declination: −10° 20′ 06″
References
- 1 2 "IAU Catalog of Star Names". Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ↑ IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), International Astronomical Union, retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ↑ Knobel, E. B. (June 1895). "Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, on a catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 55: 429. Bibcode:1895MNRAS..55..429K. doi:10.1093/mnras/55.8.429.
- ↑ Allen, R. H. (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Reprint ed.). New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 162. ISBN 0-486-21079-0. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Eta Ceti as Aoul al Naamat or Prima Struthionum (the first ostrich), Theta Ceti as Thanih al Naamat or Secunda Struthionum (the second ostrich), Tau Ceti as Thalath al Naamat or Tertia Struthionum (the third ostrich), and Zeta Ceti as Rabah al Naamat or Quarta Struthionum (the fourth ostrich). Upsilon Ceti should be Khamis al Naamat or Quinta Struthionum (the fifth ostrich) consistently, but Al Achsasi Al Mouakket designated the title "the fifth ostrich"' to Gamma Andromedae with uncleared consideration.
- ↑ (Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
- ↑ (Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表 Archived August 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine., Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.