Schedar

Schedar bears the Alpha designation of Cassiopeia and the Flamsteed number 18, marking the leading star of that prominent northern constellation. It is an orange K-type giant with a colour index of 1.17, the warm hue of a cooler, evolved star. At apparent magnitude 2.24 Schedar is one of the five bright stars that trace the constellation's W or M shape, depending on its orientation in the sky. It lies about 228 light-years from the Solar System, and its absolute magnitude of −1.98 confirms a luminosity well in excess of Sun-like stars, its warm colouring setting it apart from the constellation's hotter blue members.