V419 Cephei

V419 Cephei (BD+59°2342 or HIP 104719) is an irregular variable star in the constellation of Cepheus with an apparent magnitude that varies between 6.54 and 6.89.

Distance
The Hipparcos-measured parallax of $0.63 mas$ is not constrained to evaluate its distance. Based on kinematic analysis, its most likely distance is $1,085 parsecs$, equal to $3,540 light years$. The Gaia Data Release 2 parallax of $1.034 mas$ is consistent with this distance. It is a member of the stellar association Cepheus OB2-A.

Characteristics
V419 Cephei is a red supergiant of spectral type M2 Ib with an effective temperature around 3,700 K and an estimated radius of. The K-band angular diameter measurements equal 5.90 ± 0.70 milliarcseconds, which leads to a figure not much higher, although the uncertainty in its distance must also be taken into account. If placed at the Sun's location, it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and roughly half of the asteroid belt.

V419 Cephei has a mass 16.6 solar masses, above the limit beyond which stars end their lives as supernovae. The life of such massive stars is very short. Despite its advanced evolutionary state, V419 Cephei is only 10 million years old.

Billed as an irregular variable star of type LC, V419 Cephei's brightness varies between magnitudes 6.54 and 6.89 with no apparent periodicity.