Caph: how to find it and when to see it
Caph ranks 72nd of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 2.28, in the constellation Cassiopeia.
You can see it from anywhere north of 31° S, and it's highest in the evening sky in November.
Caph at a glance
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Magnitude
- 2.28
- Rank on our list
- 72 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Northern
- Right ascension
- 0 h 9 min
- Declination
- 59.1° north
- Visible from
- north of 31° S
- Never sets
- north of 31° N
- Best evening
- 8 November
- Name from
- Arabic
Where Caph is in the sky
Caph sits 59.1° north of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the northern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 0 h 9 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Caph
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Caph never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 71° above the horizon in the north.
It's in the evening sky from June to April, and it's highest in the evening around 8 November, in autumn.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Caph never rises above the horizon. You need to be north of 31° S to see it.
How high Caph climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never sets | 89° in the south | All year |
| 50° N | Never sets | 81° in the north | All year |
| 40° N | Never sets | 71° in the north | Jun to Apr |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 61° in the north | Jul to Feb |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 51° in the north | Aug to Feb |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 31° in the north | Sep to Jan |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 11° in the north | Nov |
| 34° S | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 45° S | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
What the name Caph means
Caph comes from the Arabic al-kaff, the palm of the hand.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Caph was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Caph
Caph is in Cassiopeia. It sits 59.1° north of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 0 h 9 min.
Caph is highest in the evening sky around 8 November. That's autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere north of 31° S. From 34° S, it never rises, so you need to be further north.
Caph has a magnitude of 2.28, which ranks it 72nd of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 31 times brighter.
Caph comes from the Arabic al-kaff, the palm of the hand.