Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 21:11 south
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All Constellations » Eridanus » 

Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani)

Altitude: -13.2°   Azimuth: 88.7°   Direction: East

Ran, also designated as ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani), is a double main-sequence star in the constellation of Eridanus.

Ran visual magnitude is 3.73. Because of its moderate brightness, Ran 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 Ran:

3.73
Main-sequence

Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -13.2°
Azimuth: 88.7°
Direction: East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Ran

Ran 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 Ran are provided in the following table:

03h 32m 55s
-09° 27’ 29”
195.86°
-48.04°
Eridanus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Ran in the sky:

Finder chart Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani) star
Simplified finder chart for Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani).

Visibility of Ran 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 Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon 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: 99.5°
Max altitude: 29.1°
Azimuth: 260.5°
Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Ran

The image below is a photograph of Ran 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 Ran is -0.974 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.021 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Ran - ε Eridani (epsilon Eridani) star
DSS2 image of Ran. The red arrow shows the motion of Ran during the next 100 years (-1.62 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.04 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Ran from the Sun and relative movement

Ran is distant 10.49 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 15 kilometers per second.

3.22 pc
10.49 ly
15 km/s
-0.974 arcsec/year
0.021 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Ran

Ran belongs to spectral class K2 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

6.19
K2V
5051K

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

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

Ran star system properties

Ran is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of medium or large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Ran double sysyem:

3.73
6.73
3
2 arcsec

Alternative designations of Ran

Ran
ε Eridani
(epsilon Eridani)
SAO130564
SAO130564