Planetary system · 1 known planet · Eridanus

Epsilon Eridani

eps Eridani

Its star: above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 03:37 · south · 29°

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Where is Epsilon Eridani?

Times for LondonChange city

Look south, about 29° up at 03:37 in Eridanus.

Rises: 22:20
Highest: 03:35
Sets: 08:50
Best after dark: 03:37 · 29°

Can I see Epsilon Eridani?

No. The planets of Epsilon Eridani can’t be seen with the eye, binoculars or any amateur telescope: they are lost in their star’s light. What you can do is point toward the star.

From London tonight, the star Epsilon Eridani is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest after dark at 03:37, in the south at 29°.

Why is Epsilon Eridani interesting?

Epsilon Eridani has 1 known planet, discovered in 2000 by the radial velocity method.

At about 10 light-years, it is one of the closest planetary systems to the Sun.

What can you see?

Eyes

Direction only

Around magnitude 3.7: visible as a modest star from suburbs and darker places.

Binoculars

An orange-tinted star.

Telescope

A single orange star. The planets themselves can’t be seen with any backyard telescope.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs.

About

Epsilon Eridani is one of the nearest stars to the Sun, about 10.5 light-years away, and one of the closest Sun-like stars, a little smaller and cooler than the Sun. It is younger than the Sun and surrounded by belts of dust and debris.

A giant planet roughly the mass of Jupiter orbits it every seven years or so, found from the star’s tiny wobble.

In 1960, Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti were the first targets of Project Ozma, an early search for radio signals from other civilizations. It has appeared in science fiction ever since.

The star is easy to see with the naked eye from reasonably dark places.

Infrared observations show several rings of dust around it, including one at roughly the distance of our Kuiper Belt. Epsilon Eridani is also magnetically active, with starspots and a cycle of activity like the Sun’s.

The Epsilon Eridani system

Known planets of Epsilon Eridani (catalog values from exoplanet.eu)
Planet	Mass	Radius	Orbit	From star	Found	Method
eps Eridani b	0.98 M♃	—	7.3 years	3.53 AU	2000	Radial Velocity

M⊕ / R⊕ = Earth masses / radii; M♃ / R♃ = Jupiter. Masses from radial velocity are often minimum masses. Data: The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia, exoplanet.eu (CC BY 4.0).

Questions

Can I see the planet around Epsilon Eridani?

No, but the star itself is visible to the naked eye.

Is Epsilon Eridani like the Sun?

It is a little smaller, cooler and younger than the Sun.

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Sources: The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (CC BY 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences