Star profile
Epsilon Dorado
Hot blue starWhat is Epsilon Dorado
ε Doradus is a hot blue star in the constellation of the Goldfish, charted by Dutch navigators at the end of the 16th century. Its cold, electric light travels for nearly six hundred years before reaching Earth, crossing the same region of sky that hosts the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its B type places it among the stars of shortest life and most vertiginous energy output.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon Dorado lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 57° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 23° N.
It ranks no. 10 in brightness among the 18 stars of Dorado in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Dorado, the brightest: it lies about 15° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 570 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on Epsilon Dorado
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 Epsilon Dorado
- Constellation
- Dorado
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.10
- Distance
- 574.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 87.473° · Dec -66.901°
- Catalogue
- HIP 27534 · HD 39844
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Dorado
Dorado has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Dorado3.30
- Beta Dorado3.76
- Gamma Dorado4.26
- Theta Dorado4.81
- Eta 2 Dorado5.01
- Nu Dorado5.06
- Lambda Dorado5.14
- HIP 238405.19