Kaffaljidhma (Gamma Ceti) -- Double Star in Cetus
Double-Star in the Head of the Sea Monster
The constellation Cetus is often referred to as the Whale. But to me the ancient diagrams
of Cetus look more like a sea-monster with a back-end of a fish and the fore-limbs and
head of a dragon. Even more confusing is the name of the specular yellow and blue
double-star Gamma Ceti that is referred to as Kaffaljidhma. If I understand it correctly, the
five stars that make up the sea-monster’s head were in antiquity collectively call
Kaffaljidhma by Arab astronomers. This translates roughly to “the maimed, or part, or
stained hand”. How all this fits with a sea-monster’s head appears to be lost to history.
Today, Kaffaljidhma is assigned only to the star Gamma Ceti.
This yellow-white star with a bluish companion is an attractive sight in the telescope. Note
however, that the separation is only 1.9 arcseconds which means you will likely have to
use a high-power eyepiece to separate the pair. An accommodating stable atmosphere
is also a great help.
There is a third dim-star in the system that goes unseen by amateur astronomers. It is
separated from the primary star by 21,000 AU and takes 1.5 million years to complete
an orbit.
of Cetus look more like a sea-monster with a back-end of a fish and the fore-limbs and
head of a dragon. Even more confusing is the name of the specular yellow and blue
double-star Gamma Ceti that is referred to as Kaffaljidhma. If I understand it correctly, the
five stars that make up the sea-monster’s head were in antiquity collectively call
Kaffaljidhma by Arab astronomers. This translates roughly to “the maimed, or part, or
stained hand”. How all this fits with a sea-monster’s head appears to be lost to history.
Today, Kaffaljidhma is assigned only to the star Gamma Ceti.
This yellow-white star with a bluish companion is an attractive sight in the telescope. Note
however, that the separation is only 1.9 arcseconds which means you will likely have to
use a high-power eyepiece to separate the pair. An accommodating stable atmosphere
is also a great help.
There is a third dim-star in the system that goes unseen by amateur astronomers. It is
separated from the primary star by 21,000 AU and takes 1.5 million years to complete
an orbit.