Triple Star Iota Cassiopeiae Iota Cas, which is largely
ignored as a result of
the luster of the rest of the constellation. And too bad, as the
star -- 140 light
years away -- is one of the more wonderful multiples of the nighttime
sky.
A small telescope reveals an attractive triple. The bright member
is a fifth
magnitude (4.65) class A (A5 peculiar) dwarf called Iota-A. Lying
just 2.7 seconds
of arc away is 7th magnitude (6.9) class F (F5) Iota-B, while 7.4
seconds of arc out
is ninth magnitude (8.7) class K (K1) Iota-C (both dwarfs).
While A and B are both white and fairly colorless, C is on the orange
side.
The closeness of the stars leads to false visual color contrasts
that make the
system quite pretty and well worth a look