Constellation, Seated Queen
Cassiopeia
The vain queen of Ethiopia, seated on her throne, whose boast brought a sea monster on her kingdom. Its bright stars form a W or M shape that is easy to find.
From New York, Cassiopeia never sets: it circles the pole and is highest at 12:15 AM on October 13, 2026, 70° above the horizon in the N.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Cassiopeia. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda. In Greek myth she boasted that her daughter, or in another version she herself, was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs. The sea god Poseidon sent the monster Cetus to punish the kingdom, and Andromeda was chained to a rock as its prey until Perseus saved her. As a further punishment, Cassiopeia was set in the sky on her throne, circling the pole, so that for part of each turn she hangs upside down.
Her star names come from Arabic. Schedar means the breast, Caph the stained hand and Ruchbah the knee. Chinese charts show no W. Three of its stars belonged to a figure named after Wangliang, a legendary charioteer. In November 1572 a brilliant new star appeared in Cassiopeia. Tycho Brahe published a study of it the next year, and it is now known as Tycho’s Supernova.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Cassiopeia
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiansi | γ Cas | 2.15 | 549 light-years |
| Schedar | α Cas | 2.24 | 228 light-years |
| Caph | β Cas | 2.28 | 55 light-years |
| Ruchbah | δ Cas | 2.66 | 99 light-years |
| Segin | ε Cas | 3.35 | 412 light-years |
| Achird | η Cas | 3.46 | 19 light-years |
| Fulu | ζ Cas | 3.69 | 593 light-years |
| Gang | 50 Cas | 3.95 | 157 light-years |
| Cexing | κ Cas | 4.17 | unknown |
| θ Cas | θ Cas | 4.34 | 134 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 598 square degrees (25 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Cas |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, from older Greek tradition |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 31 |
| Centre (J2000) | 0.8 h, 60° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC0457 · Owl Cluster | Open cluster | 6.4 |
| IC1805 | Cluster with nebula | 6.5 |
| IC1848 | Cluster with nebula | 6.5 |
| NGC0129 | Open cluster | 6.5 |
| NGC0654 | Open cluster | 6.5 |
| NGC1027 | Open cluster | 6.7 |
| NGC7789 | Open cluster | 6.7 |
| M52 | Open cluster | 6.9 |
| NGC0225 | Open cluster | 7.0 |
| NGC0663 | Open cluster | 7.1 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.