Alpha Cassiopeiae

Alpha Cassiopeiae is a star in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia. It has the proper name Schedar, pronounced ); Alpha Cassiopeiae is its Bayer designation, which is Latinized from α Cassiopeiae and abbreviated Alpha Cas or α Cas. Though listed as the "alpha star" by Johann Bayer, α Cas's visual brightness closely matches the 'beta' (β) star in the constellation (Beta Cassiopeiae) and it may appear marginally brighter or dimmer, depending on which passband is used. However, recent calculations from NASA's WISE telescope confirm that α Cas is the brightest in Cassiopeia, with an apparent magnitude of 2.240. Its absolute magnitude is 18 times greater than β Cas, and it is located over four times farther away from the Sun.