Beta Ceti (Deneb Kaitos, The Tail of the Whale) is the brightest star in this constellation, with a visual magnitude of 2.0.

Beta Ceti is found easily with the naked eye south of Alpheratz (alpha Andromedae) or southwest of Menkar: finding the beast's tail.

Beta Ceti has several fifth-magnitude neighbours: binoculars.

The bright spiral galaxy NGC 247 (which needs a medium-sized telescope) is two and a half degrees to the south-southeast of beta.