Star profile

39 Eridani

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is 39 Eridani

39 Eridani is a wide binary whose primary —an orange K3 giant more than a billion years old— has burned through its core hydrogen and swollen to twelve times the Sun's radius. It is a candidate super-metal-rich star: its atmosphere holds far more iron than the Sun's. It shines with the strength of eighty-one Suns from 242 light-years away, in the mythic waters of the river Eridanus.

Where it is and when to see it

39 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 28° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 39° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 66° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 80° N.

It ranks no. 45 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 56° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 240 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 39 Eridani

Constellation: Eridanus
Apparent magnitude: 4.87
Distance: 242.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 63.599° · Dec -10.256°
Catalogue: HIP 19777 · HD 26846

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Other stars in Eridanus

Eridanus has 129 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 129 stars in Eridanus