Menkar (Alpha Ceti) is the alpha star in Cetus.
The brightest star in the constellation Cetus is Menkar (Alpha Ceti). It is an orange giant star located approximately 220 light years away from Earth.
Adding to what Hilmas Zonneveld posted, Cetus is another constellation where Alpha (Menkar) is not the brightest star. Menacer is mag 2.4. The brightest is Beta Ceti, Deneb Kaitos or Diphda. Several stars are known as Deneb or have that word in their names. Deneb means 'tail'.
Hundreds.See related link for a full list.
A remarkable variable star in the constellation Cetus (/ Ceti).
The brightest star in a constellation is known as the alpha star. It is typically designated as the first letter of the Greek alphabet followed by the genitive form of the constellation name. For example, Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the Centaurus constellation.
The constellation of Cetus is traditionally described as depicting a whale.
Beta Ursae Majoris (Merak) is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major.Apparent magnitude: +2.34Absolute magnitude: 0.41See related question for the difference.
Beta Cancri is the brightest star in the constellation Cancer. Its common name is Altarf.
In the constellation Cetus, there are several red giant stars. These are stars that have exhausted their core hydrogen and expanded in size. One notable red giant in Cetus is Menkar, also known as Alpha Ceti.
There is no star that is simply called "Alpha". There are several that have "alpha" in their name, for example Alpha Centauri, Alpha Cruxis, Alpha Canis Majoris, etc. - usually the brightest star in each constellation. Some stars such as Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) are not actually the brightest star in the constellation.
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the Centaurus constellation, the "Centaur".
The brightest star is The Persian (alpha alpha), with magnitude 3.11