Star profile
Psi Eridani
Hot blue starWhat is Psi Eridani
Psi Eridani is a blue B-type star, young and energetic, burning some 740 light years away in the long course of the celestial river. Its light has been travelling roughly thirty times longer than humanity has been exploring space: when it left the star's surface, the Netherlands had just declared independence and Galileo had not yet aimed his telescope at the sky. To the naked eye it is a discreet glint; in truth, a furnace hundreds of times brighter than the Sun.
Where it is and when to see it
Psi 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 December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 31° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 42° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 63° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 83° N.
It ranks no. 43 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 64° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 740 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Psi Eridani
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.80
- Distance
- 739.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 75.360° · Dec -7.174°
- Catalogue
- HIP 23364 · HD 32249
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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
- AngetenarTau 2 Eridani4.76
- 64 Eridani4.78
- ZibalZeta Eridani4.80
- 15 Eridani4.86
- 39 Eridani4.87