Beta Caeli (β Cae), permanent object 731, is HD 29992 and HIP 21861. Its stored visual magnitude is about 5.04, roughly 0.6 magnitude fainter than Alpha Caeli. SIMBAD gives a Gaia parallax of 34.6088 milliarcseconds, corresponding by simple inversion to about 28.9 parsecs, or 94.2 light-years. That is an original conversion of the reported parallax rather than an independent measurement. Source: SIMBAD, https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=bet+Cae.
SIMBAD's preferred spectral type is F3 IV, while its measurement collection also contains an F3 V classification. The temperature class is consistent; the luminosity class differs between subgiant and main-sequence interpretations. That disagreement should not be smoothed away. Spectral classification depends on which diagnostic lines, standards and observations are used, and a star near an evolutionary boundary may attract slightly different labels. The safe physical summary is that Beta is an F-type star, somewhat hotter and whiter than the Sun, with its exact luminosity class catalogue-dependent.
The Gaia-based catalogue proper motion is about +42.6 milliarcseconds per year in right ascension and +212.7 milliarcseconds per year in declination. Combined, those components amount to roughly 0.217 arcsecond per year across the sky. Over a century that is about 22 arcseconds—large enough to matter for precision astrometry, but still far smaller than the several-degree constellation figure. The motion is angular motion on the sky; it is not the star's complete space velocity without distance and radial motion. Source for the measured components: SIMBAD, above.
Beta Caeli has also been observed in ultraviolet and X-ray surveys. SIMBAD cross-identifies it with the ROSAT source 1RXS J044203.7−370835 and records three International Ultraviolet Explorer observations. Those associations show that detectors recorded energetic radiation from the direction of the star. They do not justify a claim that a visual observer can see flares or that Beta is unusually active without a dedicated analysis. Archive evidence and physical interpretation are separate steps.
Caelum's official English figure is the Engraving Tool, and Caeli is the Latin genitive used in star names. Its faintness is part of the observing experience: none of the main figure stars is a brilliant beacon. The IAU records the official name, abbreviation Cae and genitive at https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx. The Greek letter Beta is an identifier within that constellation, not a statement that Beta and Alpha formed together.
The stored position is approximately right ascension 4h 42m and declination −37° 09′. At 45° N, upper culmination is only about 7.9° above a level geometric horizon. North of about 52.9° N the star never rises. At 35° S it culminates near 87.9°, almost overhead. These original geometric calculations ignore refraction and obstructions. Near a northern horizon, extinction can erase a fifth-magnitude star even when the geometry says it rises.
In the accepted Caelum finder, Beta is the bend between a brighter northern endpoint and Alpha Caeli to the south. Begin with the northern endpoint, move south to Beta, then continue a little southwest to the slightly brighter Alpha. Extend the chain to the southern end before deciding the identification. This uses relative placement rather than brightness alone; Beta's catalogue motion is much too small to deform the naked-eye figure on a human timescale.
A dark site or binoculars will usually be more useful than magnification. Log the faintest figure star held steadily and distinguish direct from averted vision. The accepted geometry has informed this draft, but the generated finder and reader link still require review. Moon, twilight and timing remain weekly conditions and are deliberately not embedded here.
