Sceptrum - 53 Eridani

Altitude: -14.1° Azimuth: 95.4° Direction: East

Sceptrum, also designated as 53 Eridani , is a double giant star in the constellation of Eridanus.

Sceptrum visual magnitude is 3.87. Because of its moderate brightness, Sceptrum 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 Sceptrum:

Color of Sceptrum ⬤

Magnitude of Sceptrum 3.87

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Sceptrum - 53 Eridani is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -14.1°
Azimuth: 95.4°
Direction: East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Sceptrum

Sceptrum 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 Sceptrum are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 04h 38m 10s

Declination J2000 -14° 18’ 14”

Galactic Longitude 211.32°

Galactic Latitude -35.89°

Constellation Eridanus

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

Simplified finder chart for Sceptrum - 53 Eridani.

Visibility of Sceptrum 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 Sceptrum - 53 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: 104.3° RISE 7:44

Max altitude: 24.2° TRANSIT 12:27

Azimuth: 255.7° SET 17:11

RIGHT NOW Sceptrum - 53 Eridani is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Sceptrum

The image below is a photograph of Sceptrum 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 Sceptrum is -0.075 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.156 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of Sceptrum. The red arrow shows the motion of Sceptrum during the next 1000 years (-1.25 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.60 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Sceptrum from the Sun and relative movement

Sceptrum is distant 109.25 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 42 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 33.51 pc

Distance (light year) 109.25 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 42 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.075 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.156 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Sceptrum

Sceptrum belongs to spectral class K2 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 1.24

Spectral Type K2III

Color Index (B-V) 1.09

Temperature of Sceptrum 4537K

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

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

Sceptrum star system properties

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

Main star magnitude 3.87

Secondary star magnitude 7.27

Magnitude difference 3.4

Separation 0.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of Sceptrum

Proper Name Sceptrum

Flamsteed designation 53 Eridani

Henry Draper Catalogue HD29503

SAO Catalogue SAO149781

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP21594

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-14 933

Gliese Catalogue Wo 9160 A

FK5 Catalogue 172

In Evidence

Other stars in Eridanus