An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → red giant → variable star in the constellation → Cetus, called also Omicron (ο) Ceti. Its → visual magnitude varies between 2.0 and 10.1 over a period of about 330 days, and its → spectral type between M5 and M9. Its diameter is 400-500 times that of the Sun, and it lies approximately 420 → light-years away. Mira is a → binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. It is the prototype of a class known as → long-period variables, or → Mira variables.

See also: From L. mira “wonderful,” as named by J. Hevelius (1611-1687).