Cetus - The Whale

Learn about the constellation Cetus - The Whale, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.

Cetus is a constellation of the southern sky, in the region known as the Water, near other watery constellations like Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.

Location: Northern Winter 1h RA -11° Dec

This constellation's most notable star is Mira (? Ceti), the first variable star to be discovered. Over 331.65 days it can reach a maximum magnitude as high as 2.0m, one of the brightest in the sky and easily visible to the unaided eye, then drop to 10.1m and back again.

Cetus Mythology

This constellation has been known since antiquity. In Mesopotamia, it was identified with the primordial cosmic female principle, the sea monster Tiamat.

In Greek mythology, together with the constellations above it, of Andromeda, Cepheus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, and possibly Pegasus), this may be the source of the myth of the Boast of Cassiopeia, with which it is usually identified.

In certain earlier Greek mythology, it also represented the gates (and gateposts) of the underworld (considered to be the area under the ecliptic).

Cetus Deep Space Objects

Cetus lies far from the galactic plane, so that many distant galaxies are visible, unobscured by dust from the Milky Way. Of these, the brightest is Messier 77 (NGC 1068), a 9th-magnitude spiral galaxy near Delta Ceti.

IC 1613 (Caldwell 51) is an irregular dwarf galaxy near the star 26 Ceti and is a member of the Local Group.

NGC 246 (Caldwell 56), also called the Cetus Ring, is a planetary nebula with a magnitude of 8.0, 1600 light-years from Earth.

In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.