Iota 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 Kaitos Shemali. The name was from the Arabian word ذنب ألشمالي - ðánab al shamāliyy, meaning the northern tail of the sea monster.

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 ι Ceti, η Ceti

Eta Ceti

Eta Ceti is a star in the constellation 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....

, 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, ι Ceti itself is known as

Structure

Iota Ceti 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...

 K1.5III 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...

 +3.56. It is approximately 290 light years from Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

• Coordinates (equinox J2000.0):
  • Right ascension
    Right ascension
    Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:...
    
    : 0h19m25.70s
  • Declination
    Declination
    In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and...
    
    : −08°49'26.0"