Star profile
Kappa Eridani
Hot blue starWhat is Kappa Eridani
Kappa Eridani burns with the deep blue of hot B-type stars, more than five hundred light-years away along the long sinuous course of the celestial river. Eridanus is one of the sky's most extensive constellations, and this star occupies its austral stretch, far from the familiar names of northern winter. Its light easily quintuples the distance the Sun's light covers in a human lifetime.
Where it is and when to see it
Kappa Eridani lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 2° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 76° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 42° N.
It ranks no. 22 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 510 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on Kappa Eridani
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Kappa Eridani
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.24
- Distance
- 508.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 36.746° · Dec -47.704°
- Catalogue
- HIP 11407 · HD 15371
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Eridanus
Eridanus has 129 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AchernarAlpha Eridani0.45
- CursaBeta Eridani2.78
- AcamarTheta 1 Eridani2.88
- Iota Eridani4.11
- HIP 178744.17
- Tau 6 Eridani4.22
- Lambda Eridani4.25
- 82 G. Eri4.26