#gamma cassiopeiae

[quiltofstars]

The Ghost of Cassiopeia (Sh2-185, center) and Tiansi (γ Cassiopeiae) // 文飞 刘 & Wai Wong

[aeontriad]

The Ghosts of Gamma Cas

[cosmicvastness]

Ground-based view of the sky around IC 63

This image shows the sky around the nebula IC 63, nicknamed the Ghost Nebula. It was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is dominated by the bright star Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is having a profound influence on IC 63.

IC 63 is only one of several nebulous structures surrounding Gamma Cassiopeiae — all of which are affected by the radiation emitted by the blue-white subgiant star.

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Digitized Sky Survey 2, Acknowledgement: Davide de Martin

[chibinotan]

Wide-Field Ghost

[quiltofstars]

The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Sh2-185 // Georg N. Nyman

The star at the center of the image is Navi (γ Cassiopeiae), a quadruple star system about 550 light years from Earth. It is named after American astronaut Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967, Gemini 3, Apollo 1) after his own middle name spelled backwards.

[quiltofstars]

The constellation of Cassiopeia, the Queen // Cyril NOGER

Click below for an annotated image and some info about the five stars that make up Cassiopeia!

The stars, in order of brightness:

Schedar (α Cassiopeiae) is a solitary orange giant star about 228 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic word şadr meaning "chest," marking its place as the heart of Queen Cassiopeia.

Caph (β Cassiopeiae) is solitary yellow-white giant star about 55 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic word kaf meaning "palm."

Tiansi (γ Cassiopeiae) is a binary star system consisting of a blue giant star and a white dwarf and lies about 550 light years distant. Its name is a recent one, given to it in November 2025. It comes from the Chinese words Tiān Sì (天駟) meaning "heavenly quadriga," pulling the chariot of Wangliang (β Cassiopeiae). It is responsible for lighting up the nearby "Ghost of Cassiopeia" nebula.

Ruchbah (δ Cassiopeiae) is a binary star system about 100 light years from Earth. The primary is a blue-white giant star. The name comes from the Arabic word rukbah meaning "knee."

Segin (ε Cassiopeiae) is a solitary blue giant star about 470 light years from Earth. The origin of its name is unknown.

Not a part of the lines that make up the constellation are a few other named stars:

Achird (η Cassiopeiae) is a binary star system consisting of a yellow Sun-like star and a red dwarf. The entire system lies about 19 light years away. The name was originally assigned to this star in 1950, but its origin is unknown.

Fulu (ζ Cassiopeiae) is a blue-white giant star about 590 light years from Earth. Its name comes from Chinese astronomy, Fùlù (附路) meaning "auxiliary road," because this star is marking itself and standing alone in the Auxiliary Road asterism.

Cexing (κ Cassiopeiae) is a blue-white supergiant star about 4,000 light years away. Its name comes from a portmanteau of the Chinese words Cè (策) meaning "the charioteer's whip" and xing meaning "star."

Castula (υ² Cassiopeiae) is a solitary yellow giant star about 196 light years from Earth. The name comes from the Latin word for a type of woman's tunic.

[quiltofstars]

The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Sh2-185 // Daniel Sha

The bright star at the top is Navi (γ Cassiopeiae), a multiple star system about 550 light years away. This star was used as a navigational reference during the early space missions, and so American astronaut Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967, Gemini 3, Apollo 1) named it after his own middle name spelled backwards.

[quiltofstars]

The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Sh2-185 // David DeShan

The bright star is none other than Tiansi (γ Cassiopeiae, formerly Navi), a quadruple star system about 550 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Chinese word 天駟 (Tiān Sì) meaning "heavenly quadriga" or "four horses" that pulled the chariot of Wangliang. This new name was approved by the International Astronomical Union on November 13, 2025.