Alpha Persei
Sign in to saveAlso known as Mirfak, 33 Persei, * alf Per
star in the constellation Perseus
Astronomical data · SIMBAD
- Object type
- V*
- Spectral type
- F5Ib
- Distance
- 506 light-years
- Redshift
- z = -0.0000071982872668074904
- Coordinates
- RA 51.0807° · Dec 49.8612°
via SIMBAD · CDS Strasbourg
Key facts
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Right ascension
- 03 24 19.37009
- Declination
- +49 ° 51 ′ 40.2455 ″
- Spectral type
- F5 Ib
- U b color index
- +0.38
- B v color index
- +0.483
via Wikipedia infobox
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Alpha Persei (Latinized from α Persei, abbreviated Alpha Per, α Per), formally named Mirfak (pronounced /ˈmɜːrfæk/ or /ˈmɪərfæk/), is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Perseus, outshining the constellation's best-known star, Algol (β Persei). Alpha Persei has an apparent visual magnitude of 1.8, and is a circumpolar star when viewed from mid-northern latitudes.
Alpha Persei lies in the midst of a cluster of stars named as the eponymous Alpha Persei Cluster, or Melotte 20, which is easily visible in binoculars and includes many of the fainter stars in the constellation. Determined distance using the trigonometric parallax, places the star 510 light-years (160 parsecs) away.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Alpha Persei” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.