Mu Cephei, also known as the Garnet Star, is one of the largest and most luminous stars in the night sky. It is a red hyper-giant, with a radius of around 1500 times that of the Sun, and a luminosity 100,000 times that of the Sun.
Mu Cephei, is a circumpolar star, and is easily observed all year round. It can be observed with the naked eye, but you might need a small pair of binoculars, if your skies are very light polluted. Mu Cephei can be challenging to observe due to its red colour. You may want to avoid observing this star when the sky is hazy, or lit by moonlight. Its best to take brief glances, rather stare at the star for any length of time, as the red light tends to build-up on the retina, and the star will appear brighter then it actually is.
Mu Cephei, is usually classified as an irregular variable, and varies between magnitude 3.4 and 5.1, with a period of 860 days.
