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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:02  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:32 south
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All Constellations » Eridanus » 

ν Eridani (nu Eridani)

Altitude: 23.6°   Azimuth: 229.3°   Direction: South-West

ν Eridani is a variable and double giant star in the constellation of Eridanus.

ν Eridani visual magnitude is 3.93. Because of its moderate brightness, ν Eridani should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about ν Eridani:

3.93
Giant

ν Eridani (nu Eridani) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 23.6°
Azimuth: 229.3°
Direction: South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ν Eridani

ν Eridani is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of ν Eridani are provided in the following table:

04h 36m 19s
-03° 21’ 09”
199.31°
-31.38°
Eridanus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ν Eridani in the sky:

Finder chart ν Eridani (nu Eridani) star
Simplified finder chart for ν Eridani (nu Eridani).

Visibility of ν Eridani from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's ν Eridani (nu Eridani) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 93.4°
Max altitude: 35.2°
Azimuth: 266.6°

Digitized Sky Survey image of ν Eridani

The image below is a photograph of ν Eridani from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of ν Eridani is 0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.005 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ν Eridani (nu Eridani) star
DSS2 image of ν Eridani. The red arrow shows the motion of ν Eridani during the next 100000 years (3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -8.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of ν Eridani from the Sun and relative movement

ν Eridani is distant 586.33 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 15 kilometers per second.

179.86 pc
586.33 ly
15 km/s
0.002 arcsec/year
-0.005 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ν Eridani

ν Eridani belongs to spectral class B2 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-2.34
B2III
13831K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where ν Eridani is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of ν Eridani. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

ν Eridani star system properties

ν Eridani is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the ν Eridani double sysyem:

3.93
13.13
9.2
50.9 arcsec

Alternative designations of ν Eridani

ν Eridani
(nu Eridani)
SAO131346
SAO131346