The fall constellation of Cetus the Whale contains a "wonderful" star known as Mira.
Cetus the Whale is a long constellation that rises in the east-southeast on fall evenings. As one of the largest constellations, it can be found lying below Pisces the Fish in the sky. In mythology, Cetus was a fearsome sea monster. Cetus nearly ate the maiden Andromeda before Perseus arrived and saved the day, slaying Cetus.
Stars
The head of Cetus lies in the northern part of the constellation's boundaries. The brightest star in the head is Menkar at magnitude 2.54. The star that marks where the whale's head joins its neck is the 3.47-magnitude star Kaffaljidhma. Moving toward the body of the whale is Delta Ceti at magnitude 4.08. Delta will be useful later for finding Cetus's one prominent galaxy.
The next star in the body of the whale is the famous Mira, also know as The Wonderful. Mira is a popular variable star. A variable star is one that changes in brightness. This long-period variable star can get as bright as magnitude 2 and as dim as magnitude 4.9. How bright does it look tonight?Another interesting feature of Mira is that it is rushing through space at 130 kilometers a second. This immense speed and the fact that Mira is nearing the end of its life means material is being ejected off of the wonderful star and spilling out into space behind it, creating an amazing tail that stretches for an incredible 13 light-years.
Continuing down to the end of the constellation past some dim and unremarkable stars you'll find the brightest star in Cetus. Diphda, which shines at magnitude 2.0, lies near the tail of the beast.
Galaxies
The one Messier object in Cetus is M77. It lies just a degree ESE of the star Delta Ceti. M77 is a magnitude 8.8 galaxy. M77 has an active galactic nucleus, which can be seen by observers. The face-on spiral galaxy has a noticeably bright center. If you are observing with a larger telescope, you may be able to catch another galaxy between Delta and M77. The magnitude-10.6 galaxy NGC 1055 lies there.
Nebula
One notable planetary nebula lies six degrees north of the brightest star Diphda. NGC 246 is a fairly bright magnitude 8. The nebula has a bubble or ring shape appearance. Planetary nebulas are created when stars puff off material toward the end of their lives. Mira will eventually create another planetary nebula in Cetus when it ends its life and ejects its remaining gas.
