Constellations · Constellation · Eridani · Eri
Constellation
Eridanus
A celestial river winding from Orion’s foot almost to the south pole of the sky, ending in Achernar — “the river’s end”.
- Genitive
- Eridani
- Area
- 1,138 square degrees · 6th of 88
- Brightest star
- Achernar · magnitude 0.45
- Naked-eye stars
- 196 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- early November
Myth
Often the river Eridanus into which Phaethon fell, struck down by Zeus after losing control of his father the Sun’s chariot; some Greeks thought it was the Nile or the Po.
Science
Achernar spins so fast that it is about a third wider at the equator than pole to pole — one of the most flattened stars known.
Did you know
Epsilon Eridani, only 10.5 light-years away, is a young Sun-like star surrounded by dust rings — and, in science fiction, the home of Babylon 5 and many other worlds.