Schedar (α Cassiopeiae) - This orange star, located 228 light years away, is 676 times brighter than our Sun, but it appears only as a 2.23 magnitude star in the sky (the actual magnitude varies by a few tenths).
Cih (γ Cassiopeiae) - The white dwarf, with a star in the middle of the letter "W", is the brightest in this group. It is approximately 34,000 times more luminous than the Sun and located 550 light-years away. Using a larger amateur telescope, we will reveal a companion with a brightness of 11mag at a separation of 2.3".
Achird (η Cassiopeiae) - well-known binary star, discovered in 1779 by William Herschel. The yellow, golden star (3.7mag) has a separation of 13" (with the separation changing from 5" to 16" over the period) and is accompanied by a companion of brightness 7.4mag with a red, purplish tint, which orbits it every 526 years. The binary star can be resolved in a 6 cm telescope.
ι Cas - one of the most beautiful triple stars in the sky. The main, white star with a brightness of 4.7mag is accompanied by a yellow and blue component. At a distance of 2.3", there is the first companion with a brightness of 7mag. At a separation of 7.2", there is a second component associated with this system, with a brightness of 8.4mag. The components of the main AB pair orbit each other every 840 years.
ρ Cas - An irregular variable star, similar to R Coronae Borealis, its brightness varies between 4.1mag and 6.2mag in a cycle that lasts slightly less than one year. Suitable comparison stars are σ (4.9mag) and τ Cas (4.87mag). This exceptionally luminous supergiant is located 3400 light-years away. In the sky, we see it near the star β Cas.
RZ Cassiopeiae - Interesting eclipsing variable star. The period of brightness changes is 1.19 days, but the decrease in brightness from 6.18mag to 7.72mag lasts only two hours, while the brightening then occurs immediately and the star returns to its original magnitude in the next two hours.
CAS A - The remains of a supernova, which likely appeared in the sky several tens of thousands of years ago, so there are no proven records of it. Today, we observe the strongest stellar radio source in the entire sky from this region, south of M52. At the location of the radio object, we can find filamentary nebulae expanding at a velocity of 900 km/s, with their distance estimated at 10,000 light-years.
Tychova hviezda - Supernova 1572, one of the three observed and documented supernovae that erupted in our Galaxy in the distant past. It was named after the Danish astronomer Tycho de Brahe, who observed its explosion on November 11, 1572, and the course of its brightness until it disappeared from the sky (it was also observed by Tadeáš Hájek z Hájku). At that time, he did not know that the star had exploded at a distance of 8,000 light-years. The star shone in close proximity to the northwest of the star κ Cas. At its peak, it reached an apparent magnitude equal to Venus, reaching a maximum brightness of -4.0 mag and was visible even during the day. Then its brightness decreased, but it could still be seen with the naked eye for a period of 16 months. Today, it is once again a star with an apparent brightness of less than 19 mag, with an expanding nebula, a radio and X-ray source of radiation.
R Casiopeiae - Long-period variable star with a magnitude range from 4.7 to 13.5 over 431 days. It is located closer to the border with the constellation of Andromeda.