supergiant · F5Ib
Mirfak
Mirfak is a yellow-white supergiant (spectral type F5Ib) about 510 light-years away. With an apparent magnitude of 1.79 it is a very bright, conspicuous star.
The brightest star in Perseus. It sits in the middle of a loose star cluster, the Alpha Persei Cluster.
Its light output is roughly 4,000 times that of the Sun (a rough estimate in visible light, calculated from brightness and distance).
From Germany (52° N) it never sets: it stays above the horizon all year.
Key facts
- Distance
- ≈ 510 light-years
- Spectral type
- F5Ib (supergiant)
- Colour
- Yellow-white
- Apparent magnitude
- 1.79 mag
- Luminosity
- ≈ 4,000 × Sun
- Position
- Right ascension 3h 24m, declination 49.9°
More well-known stars
Data: Hipparcos / HYG catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0). Luminosity and visibility are calculated estimates.