Custos
Designations
- Variable: BE Cam
- Hipparchos: HIP 17884
Data
- Constellation: Camelopardalis
- Apparent Magnitude: 4.35-4.48
- Variable Type: LC
- Right Ascension (J2000): 03h49m30.20s
- Declination (J2000): +65°31'18".5
- Colour Index (B-V): 1.88
- Distance: 982.40±53.26ly
Nomenclature
Custos
The now defunct constellation Custos Messium, the Harvest Keeper, once inhabited the area of northern Cassiopeia and part of Camelopardalis, providing the namesake for this star. It was created by Joseph Jérôme de Lalande on his celestial globe of 1775 and was described in the accompanying pamphlet Explication des nouveaux globes céleste et terrestre. The name was punned off of that of his colleague, the comet-hunter Charles Messier. Indeed, its location was chosen as the comet of 1774, an object which Messier extensively observed, appeared in this region of the sky. Due to the depoliticisation of the night sky, the name was shortened to Custos, the Keeper, and applied as as star name in 2025 to BE Cam to commemorate the constellation.