ν Ceti, Latinized as Nu Ceti, is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.86. The system is located approximately 340 light years distant from the Sun, based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 4.8 km/s. Nu Ceti is believed to be part of the Ursa Major stream of co-moving stars.
In Chinese, Chinese: 天囷 (Chinese: Tiān Qūn), meaning Circular Celestial Granary, refers to an asterism consisting of α Ceti, κ1 Ceti, λ Ceti, μ Ceti, ξ1 Ceti, ξ2 Ceti, ν Ceti, γ Ceti, δ Ceti, 75 Ceti, 70 Ceti, 63 Ceti and 66 Ceti. Consequently, the Chinese name for ν Ceti itself is "the Seventh Star of Circular Celestial Granary", Chinese: Tiān Qūn Qī.[1]
The primary, designated component A, forms a single-lined spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 714.5days and an eccentricity of 0.27. The visible component is a G-type giant star, currently on the horizontal branch, with a stellar classification of G8III. In addition to the spectroscopic companion there is a visual companion star which shares a common proper motion with Nu Ceti A, designated component B; an F-type main-sequence star with a class of F7V and a 9.08 apparent visual magnitude located 8.0 arcsec away. It was discovered by Struve.