The brightest star of the constellation has a magnitude of 2.44. It is a yellow-white star of spectral class A7, located 49 light-years away from us, forming a quadrilateral with the stars β (magnitude 3.21), ζ (magnitude 3.35), and ι (magnitude 3.52). In its center lies the star ξ Cep. Due to the precession of the Earth's axis, Alderamin will become the closest star to the North Celestial Pole around the year 7500 AD. It has a luminosity 17 times greater than that of the Sun.