EDT, Light The River begins near the star Rigel in the constellation Orion the Hunter and wells up in a great loop before ambling back down toward the southern horizon. Perhaps Zeus intervened by sending a thunderbolt to stop him. The Nu Eridanids radiate from the constellation between August 30 and September 12 every year, while the showers parental body remains an unidentified Oort Cloud object. Bright blue areas of star formation can be observed in its spiral arms. Eridanus contains several notable stars, the most famous of which is Achernar, or Alpha Eridani. Hover the pointer over the name of an object to highlight its position on the starchart to the right, Its the one that extends farthest in the sky from north to south. The name is derived from the Arabic Akhir an-nahr, which means the end of the river. Of the top ten brightest stars in the night sky, Achernar is ranked ninth and is also the hottest and bluest. Timezone: 40.74N Several notable stars are located in the constellation of Eridanus, such as Achernar, Cursa, Acamar, 39 Eridani, 40 Eridani, p Eridani, or Ran which hosts a planet very similar to Jupiter. The Eridanus Constellation Welcome to another edition of Constellation Friday! Eridanus is also home to several Deep Sky Objects like the Witch Head Nebula, a faint reflection nebula located approximately 1000 light years from Earth. For astrophotographers, try your hand at IC 2118, better known as the Witch Head Nebula. Deep-sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae are diffuse, so subtract an integer for these. [1] A name is preferred even if it's a random made up one by yourself. It's surrounded by numerous constellations including Caelum, Cetus, Fornax, Horologium, Hydrus, Lepus, Orion, Phoenix, Taurus, and Tucana. The constellation of Eridanus hosts a supervoid, designated as the Eridanus Supervoid it is the second-largest known void. 8" (200mm) telescope = 14 Epsilon Eridani - Wikipedia Ford 20112023. If youd like to tour some variable stars in Eridanus with your binoculars, have a look at Gamma, Delta, Lambda and Nu Eridani. Its main component is an A4 star that is orbited by an A1 star. The celestial hemispheres are a projection of the terrestrial hemisphere into the sky. Eridanus is the 6th largest constellation. Enjoy! The Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus - Wikipedia Star Constellations Zeus intervened and killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt. 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. Several notable stars are located in Eridanus, such as Achernar, Cursa, Acamar, 39 Eridani, 40 Eridani, p Eridani, or Ran which hosts a planet very similar to Jupiter. The center of the bar shows an unusual structure: within the overall spiral structure, a grand design spiral that is 3,300 light-years in diameter exists. Binoculars = 10 Newark (40.74N; 74.17W), Dominic Facts Rana is the traditional/proper name for the star, whilst Delta Eridani is the Bayer classification for the star. The primary star, Achernar, is the least spherical star in the Milky Way, this is because it spins very fast, having a rotational velocity of around 250 km / 155.3 mi per second. Also see all Milky Way satellite galaxies. Rana (Delta Eridani) Star Facts (Distance, Colour, Radius & more) 12" (300m) telescope = 15 It was discovered by linking a "cold spot" in the cosmic microwave background to an absence of radio galaxies in data of the United States National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array Sky Survey. As it was scaring the people below, Zeus threw fire bolts at the chariot to stop him. Click the map for a 909x1149 version of the above. Eridanus Constellation Meaning - Astrology King Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky that humans have used since antiquity to navigate and to learn about space. Monocular vs. Binoculars- Which One is Best for Stargazing, Eridanus was one of the 48 Greek constellations first listed by Ptomely, in his 2. The Eridanus Constellation spreads on 1138 square degrees, being the sixth largest constellation in the night sky among the 88 modern constellations. A low velocity dispersion compared to that of, for example, the Coma cluster, supports this hypothesis. Similarly, in classical Sanskrit, the constellation was known as Srotaswini, which roughly translates into stream, current, or even torrent.. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Eridanus is commonly depicted as a river flowing from the waters poured by Aquarius. Cursa has an apparent magnitude of 2.796, being 25 times brighter than our Sun. Cursa is the second brightest star in Eridanus at magnitude 2.79. The boundary of the Eridanus constellation contains 26 stars that host known exoplanets. Cursa ( Eri): Star Type, Facts, Name, Location | Star Facts All of these are variable stars, including a few Cepheids, but their changes are very slight, only about half a magnitude. In English language this constellation is also known as "The River" while in astronomical texts and literature this . Cursa is also hotter than our Sun, having temperatures of around 8,360 K, and like Achernar, it is a fast-spinning star, with a rotational velocity estimated at around 196 km / 121.7 mi per second. The unseen southern part was classified among the Southern Asterisms (, Jnnnjxngu) by Xu Guangqi, based on knowledge of western star charts. It is located at around 10.4 light-years away from the Solar System. You wont see this constellation from the city, or even the suburbs. The star has a visual companion and (like Achernar) is a fast spinner, resulting in an oblate spheroid shape. In simple terms, the area is thought by some to be a point of contact between different universes, and despite the best efforts of dozens of investigators, no amount of computer modelling has ever been able to explain the void in terms of any of the current, accepted theoretical models of the origin of the universe. ** Circumpolar constellations are visible year-round in the hemisphere listed (and not at all in the opposite hemisphere). click here. Eridanus is located in the first quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +32 o and -90 o. The River begins at Orions bright star Rigel. It is the sixth largest modern constellation, but despite its size In Homers day in ancient Greece, people thought that the River of Ocean encircled a flat Earth. 32 Eridani is a binary star 290 light-years from Earth. Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. It is near the celestial equator. Phaethon was the son of Helios, the god of the sun. The primary is a yellow-hued star of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is a blue-green star of magnitude 6.1. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 9.39. Zaurak (Gamma Eridani) is a giant star located in the constellation of Eridanus, River Eridanus.It is not part of the Eridanus constellation outline but is within the borders of the constellation. By Greek and Roman times, the constellation referred to the river Po (Eridanos in Greek), Italys longest river which runs 405 miles (652 km) from northwestern Italy to the Adriatic Sea on the east. [12], Eridanus is connected to the myth of Phaethon, who took over the reins of his father Helios' sky chariot (i.e., the Sun),[1] but didn't have the strength to control it and so veered wildly in different directions, scorching both Earth and heaven. Oops! Now, lets look at NGC 1300 (RA 03h 19m 41.1s Dec -19 24 41). p Eridani is a binary star with two orange components, 27 light-years from Earth. The next views are binocular width, showing stars to mag. [4], Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 12:50, "GMRT HI Observations of the Eridanus Group of Galaxies I", "Studies of nearby poor clusters The Eridanus group", "A re-analysis of the dynamics of the nearby groups of galaxies", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eridanus_Cluster&oldid=1141718239, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 12:50. The mythology of Eridanus ties it to Phaethon. Constellation Eridanus: gift, map, coordinates and explanation Brightest among these is the elliptical Achernar is at the southern end of the river and is as far as you can get from the second brightest. Zeus intervened by striking Phaethon dead with a thunderbolt and casting him to Earth. Eridanus is visible to observers at latitudes between +32 and -90 and is best seen at culmination during the month of December. Constellation Eridanus - The Constellations on Sea and Sky Around 13 stars from Eridanus are within 32.62 light-years away from the Solar System. The Eridanus Cluster is a galaxy cluster roughly 23 Mpc (75 Mly) from Earth, containing about 73 main galaxies and about 200 total galaxies. Eridanus spans 90 degrees of the Zodiac in the Signs of Pisces, Aries, Taurus and Gemini, and contains 15 named fixed stars. The constellation Eridanus showing common, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27. The two stars forming the binary system is comprised out of Theta Eridani1, and Theta Eridani2. It represents a mythical river, sometimes identified as either the Nile or the River Po in Italy. Location: Other notable stars include Epsilon Eridani, which is one of the closest stars to Earth known to have a planetary system, and 40 Eridani, a trinary star system which, in the Star Trek universe, is presented as the home of the Vulcans. The Eridanus Cloud, also known as the Eridanus Group, is a nearby loose grouping of galaxies at a mean distance of around 75 million light-years. Its imagery is tied to several ancient myths, most notably that of Phaethon, the son of the sun god Helios, who couldn't control his father's sun chariot and was struck down by Zeus, falling into the river Eridanus. Before joining Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The constellation Eridanus contains no Messier objects, but it does have some notable stars and deep sky objects, among which is the bright star Achernar, seven known stars with planets, and the mysterious Eridanus Supervoid, an empty region of space that defies explanation. Now, lets go to the northern extreme and have a look at Beta Eridani the B symbol on our map. Erik Gregersen is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, specializing in the physical sciences and technology. [3] There is some speculation that the void may be due to quantum entanglement between our universe and another. Ready for a nice telescope challenge? Thats right Its a rapid rotator. Its brightest star is Achernar, the ninth brightest star in the sky, with a magnitude of 0.5. The dimmest star that a person can see on a clear night with their naked eye is 6.0 magnitude based on the table in the reference. Latitude: Today, in honor of the late and great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the winding river the Eridanus constellation. At about one billion light years in diameter, this is the largest supervoid ever discovered. Features The name Cursa derives from the Arabic Al Kursiyy al Jauzah, which roughly translates into the chair of the central one, which is taken to refer to a star association that it forms together with Lambda Eridani, Psi Eridani, and Tau Orionis in Orion. There are 207 stars within the Eridanus constellation boundary that can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night sky. Naked-eye = 6* (dark sky) It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the second century astronomer Ptolemy. Thank you! Then try planetary nebula, NGC 1535 (RA 4:14.2 Dec -12:44). These superclusters contain hundreds of very young stars, some as young as 70 million years including stars such as Sirius itself, Beta Aurigae, Alpha Coronae Borealis, Zeta Crateris, and Beta Serpentis. Based on parallax measurements taken by the Gaia mission, it is about 16.3 light-years from the Sun . Eridanus, constellation in the southern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and that stretches from the celestial equator to about 60 south in declination. The chariot stopped, but Phaethon fell out and into the river. Interactive, wide area map of northern Eridanus. Dakshinamoorthy himself is represented by the constellation Orion. The magnitude 5.8 primary and 5.9 secondary have an orbital period of 500 years. Its brightest star is Achernar, the ninth brightest star in the sky, with a magnitude of 0.5. You will never see the southern tip of it, that is Achernar. Open clusters containing bright blue stars are sprinkled along these spiral arms, with dark lanes of dense interstellar dust between. Named after the Greek term for the Po River, Eridanus represents a winding river in Greek mythology, and is one of the largest constellations, spanning a significant portion of the sky. Eridanus is surrounded by the constellations of Caelum, Cetus, Fornax, Horologium, Hydrus, Lepus, Orion, Phoenix, Taurus, and Tucana. In Mesopotamia, for instance, Eridanus is believed to have depicted the river Tigris or Euphrates, while to the Egyptians it was seen as the Nile. Next up is Beta Eridani (aka. Currently, around 32 stars in Eridanus have been discovered to host planets. Phaethon was the son of the Sun god Helios and the Oceanid Clymene. Massive 'Potentially hazardous' asteroid to zoom past Earth on Tuesday close to the celestial equator, all the way down to Tucana at a Dominic You can't just go to one location and arrive in Eridanus constellation, this is because it is made up of stars at different positions and distances. Some theorize that Eridanus takes its name from the Babylonian constellation known as the Star of Eridu MUL.NUN.KI Eridu was an ancient city in the south of Babylonia that was sacred to the god Enki-Ea who ruled the cosmic domain of the Abyss a mythical concept of the fresh-water reservoir below Earths surface. This hot blue star (B6 Vep) is about eight times as massive as our sun, but it is a spectacular 1,350 times more luminous. Acamar, designated as Theta Eridani, is a binary system located at around 161 light-years away from us. It fully disappears from May until September, when it slowly begins to appear on the horizon led by its Alpha star, Achernar. Since he lacked experience, the reins slipped from his hands, and the chariot plunged close to the Earth, and the lands caught fire. USS Eridanus (AK-92) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the constellation. Around 200 galaxies are associated with this group, 70% of which are spiral and irregular type galaxies while the remaining 30% are elliptical and lenticular types of galaxies. 39 Eridani A has an apparent magnitude of 5.07, being 81.3 times brighter than our Sun. Eridanus - Wikipedia Are We Alone? It is associated with the story of Phaethon in Greek mythology. All rights reserved. The secondary star has around 240% of our Suns mass, and it is the hottest of the pair, having temperatures of around 9,200 K. 39 Eridani is a binary star system that has a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.87. From the Northern Hemipshere, look southward for Eridanus on northern winter evenings, say, in the month of January. Observers from places farther north than 32o . Cetus ( / sits /) is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale ' in English. The constellation is home to the Eridanus Supervoid, a massive empty space in the universe discovered through studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The constellation of Eridanus contains one of the biggest supervoids ever discovered, nicknamed the Eridanus Supervoid or Great Void.