Star profile
Pi Eridani
Variable starWhat is Pi Eridani
π Eridani burns red within the long celestial river of Eridanus, 481 light-years away. It is an asymptotic-branch M-type giant, swollen to more than sixty solar radii and cooled to about 3,880 K. Its brightness shifts slowly, with no fixed pattern —astronomers call it a slow irregular variable— as if breathing with the distracted cadence of an old star about to shed its outer layers.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi 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 November, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 26° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 37° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 68° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 78° N.
It ranks no. 29 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 51° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 480 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Pi Eridani
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.43
- Distance
- 481.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 56.536° · Dec -12.102°
- Catalogue
- HIP 17593 · HD 23614
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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
- HIP 177974.30
- 54 Eridani4.32
- Omega Eridani4.36
- KeidOmicron 2 Eridani4.43
- 32 Eridani4.46