Star profile
Tau 9 Eridani
Variable starWhat is Tau 9 Eridani
Tau-9 Eridani belongs to the long current of the river Eridanus, that meandering constellation that flows down from Orion to the outer reaches of the southern sky. It is a variable white A-type star more than three hundred light-years away, whose brightness shifts subtly around a mean value. It is part of the fleet of small lights that give body to the mythological riverbed, far from the headwaters where mighty Achernar burns.
Where it is and when to see it
Tau 9 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 14° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 25° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 80° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 66° N.
It ranks no. 36 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 42° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 330 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Tau 9 Eridani
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.62
- Distance
- 327.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 59.981° · Dec -24.016°
- Catalogue
- HIP 18673 · HD 25267
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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
- Upsilon 1 Eridani4.49
- HIP 168704.57
- HIP 173514.59
- Tau 8 Eridani4.64
- HIP 124134.74