Eta Ceti is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Cetus. It has the traditional name Deneb Algenubi or Algenudi. The name was from Arabic ذنب ألجنبي - ðánab al-janūbii, meaning the southern tail of the sea monster.

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket was an Egyptian astronomer whose calendarium and catalogue of stars, entitled Durret al Muddiah Fih al Aamal al Shamsiah , was written at Cairo about 1650.Al Achsasi was sheikh of the Grand Mosque of the University of Cairo, where his name al...

, this star was designated Aoul al Naamat (أول ألنعمة - awwil al naʽāmāt), which was translated into Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 as Prima Struthionum, meaning the first ostrich. This star, along with θ Cet

Theta Ceti

Theta Ceti is a Class K0, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Cetus. Theta Ceti is an orange giant star located about 115 light-years from Earth.-Name:...

 (Thanih al Naamat), τ Cet

Tau Ceti

Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under 12 light-years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to...

 (Thalath Al Naamat), ζ Cet

Zeta Ceti

Zeta Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus. It has the traditional name Baten Kaitos ....

 (Baten Kaitos) and υ Cet

Upsilon Ceti

Upsilon Ceti is a Class K5, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Cetus. Upsilon Ceti is a red-orange giant star located about 300 light-years from Earth....

, were Al Naʽāmāt (ألنعمة), the Hen Ostriches.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Square Celestial Granary

Bond (Chinese constellation)

Leu sieu meaning "the Train of a garment", was one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions of the traditional Chinese astronomy. It was one of the White Tiger of the West （西方白虎）.- The asterisms in the Region of Leu （婁宿天區）:...

, refers to an asterism consisting of η Ceti, ι Ceti

Iota Ceti

Iota Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus. It has the traditional name Deneb Kaitos Shemali. The name was from the Arabian word ذنب ألشمالي - ðánab al shamāliyy, meaning the northern tail of the sea monster....

, θ Ceti

Theta Ceti

Theta Ceti is a Class K0, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Cetus. Theta Ceti is an orange giant star located about 115 light-years from Earth.-Name:...

, ζ Ceti

Zeta Ceti

Zeta Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus. It has the traditional name Baten Kaitos ....

, τ Ceti

Tau Ceti

Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under 12 light-years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to...

 and 57 Ceti. Consequently, η Ceti itself is known as

Structure

It belongs to spectral class

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 K1.5IIICN1Fe0.5 and has apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 +3.45. It is approximately 118 light years from Earth.