At its southern end is themagnitude 0.5starAchernar, designated Alpha Eridani. It is a blue-white huedmain sequence star 144 light-years from Earth, whose traditional name means "the river's end".[2] Achernar is a very peculiar star because it is one of the flattest stars known. Observations indicate that its radius is about 50% larger at the equator than at the poles. This distortion occurs because the star is spinning extremely rapidly.
There are several other noteworthy stars in Eridanus, including some double stars.Beta Eridani, traditionally called Cursa, is a blue-white star of magnitude 2.8, 89 light-years from Earth. Its place to the south of Orion's foot gives it its name, which means "the footstool".Theta Eridani, called Acamar, is a binary star with blue-white components, distinguishable in small amateur telescopes and 161 light-years from Earth. The primary is of magnitude 3.2 and the secondary is of magnitude 4.3.32 Eridani is a binary star 290 light-years from Earth. The primary is a yellow-hued star of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is a blue-green star of magnitude 6.1. 32 Eridani is visible in small amateur telescopes.39 Eridani is a binary star also divisible in small amateur telescopes, 206 light-years from Earth. The primary is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 4.9 and the secondary is of magnitude 8.40 Eridani is a triple star system consisting of an orange main-sequence star, awhite dwarf, and ared dwarf. The orange main-sequence star is the primary of magnitude 4.4, and the white secondary of magnitude 9.5 is the most easily visible white dwarf. The red dwarf, of magnitude 11, orbits the white dwarf every 250 years. The 40 Eridani system is 16 light-years from Earth.p Eridani is a binary star with two orange components, 27 light-years from Earth. The magnitude 5.8 primary and 5.9 secondary have an orbital period of 500 years.[2]
Artist's impression of a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting the nearby star Epsilon Eridani
NGC 1535 is a small blue-gray planetary nebula visible in small amateur telescopes, with a disk visible in large amateur instruments. 2000 light-years away, it is of the 9th magnitude.[2]
NGC 1300 is a face-onbarred spiral galaxy located 61 (plus or minus 8) million light-years away. The center of the bar shows an unusual structure: within the overall spiral structure, agrand design spiral that is 3,300 light-years in diameter exists.[7] Its spiral arms are tightly wound.[8]
TheNu Eridanids, a recently discovered meteor shower, radiate from the constellation between August 30 and September 12 every year; the shower's parent body is an unidentifiedOort cloud object.[9] Another meteor shower in Eridanus is theOmicron Eridanids, which peak between November 1 and 10.[10]
Eridanus is depicted in ancient sky charts as a flowing river, starting from Orion and flowing in a meandering fashion pastCetus andFornax and into the southern hemispheric stars.Johann Bayer'sUranometria depicts the river constellation as a flowing river.[11]
According to one theory, the Greek constellation takes its name from the Babylonian constellation known as the Star of Eridu (MUL.NUN.KI).Eridu was an ancient city in the extreme south of Babylonia; situated in the marshy regions it was held sacred to the god Enki-Ea who ruled the cosmic domain of the Abyss—a mythical conception of the fresh-water reservoir below the Earth's surface.[12]
Eridanus is connected to the myth ofPhaethon, who took over the reins of his fatherHelios' sky chariot (i.e., the Sun),[2] but did not have the strength to control it and so veered wildly in different directions, scorching both Earth and heaven. Zeus intervened by striking Phaethon dead with a thunderbolt and casting him to Earth. The constellation was supposed to be the path Phaethon drove along[13]; in later times, it was considered a path of souls. SinceEridanos was also a Greek name for thePo (LatinPadus), in which the burning body of Phaethon is said by Ovid to have extinguished, the mythic geography of the celestial and earthly Eridanus is complex.[14]
Another association with Eridanus is a series of rivers all around the world. First conflated with theNile River in Egypt, the constellation was also identified with thePo River in Italy. The stars of the modern constellationFornax were formerly a part of Eridanus.[2]
The stars that correspond to Eridanus are also depicted as a river inIndian astronomy starting close to the head of Orion just belowAuriga. Eridanus is calledSrotaswini inSanskrit,srótas meaning the course of a river or stream. Specifically, it is depicted as theGanges on the head ofDakshinamoorthy orNataraja, aHindu incarnation ofShiva. Dakshinamoorthy himself is represented by the constellationOrion.[citation needed]
The stars that correspond to Eridanus cannot be fully seen from China. InChinese astronomy, the northern part is located within theWhite Tiger of the West (西方白虎,Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ). The unseen southern part was classified among theSouthern Asterisms (近南極星區,Jìnnánjíxīngqū) byXu Guangqi, based on knowledge of western star charts.[citation needed]
^Wilkins, Jamie; Dunn, Robert (2006).300 Astronomical Objects: A Visual Reference to the Universe. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books.ISBN978-1-55407-175-3.
