Eridanus

constellation

Written by Erik Gregersen

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Eridanus, constellation in the southern sky at about 4 hours right ascension and that stretches from the celestial equator to about 60° south in declination. Its brightest star is Achernar, the ninth brightest star in the sky, with a magnitude of 0.5. This constellation contains Epsilon Eridani, the 10th nearest star to Earth at a distance of 10.5 light-years and one of the targets of Project Ozma, the first search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The ancient Greeks identified Eridanus with rivers from both geography (e.g., the Nile and the Po) and mythology (the stream that flowed around the world).

Erik Gregersen