It is visible to the naked eye as a faint point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.86.

[2] The system is located approximately 340 light years distant from the Sun, based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 4.8 km/s.

Consequently, the Chinese name for ν Ceti itself is "the Seventh Star of Circular Celestial Granary", Tiān Qūn Qī.

[11] The primary, designated component A, forms a single-lined spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 1.96 years and an eccentricity of 0.27.

[4] In addition to the spectroscopic companion there is a visual companion star which shares a common proper motion with Nu Ceti A, designated component B; an F-type main-sequence star with a class of F7V[4] and a 9.08 apparent visual magnitude located 8.0 arcsec away.