Nu Eridani, a blue subgiant star in Eridanus
Nu Eridani is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Eridanus. At 674 light years away, it is the 480th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.93.
Nu Eridani (HIP 21444)
Nu Eridani is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Eridanus. At 674 light years away, it is the 480th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.93. Nu Eridani is the primary component of a multiple-star system and an intrinsic variable star that varies between magntitudes 3.8 and 3.92 over a period of 4.08 hours. The iron abundance of Nu Eridani is -0.27 (53.7% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 15.8 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,600 and 29,100 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 4h 36.3m, Dec -3° 21'
Common designations: Nu Eridani, 48 Eridani, HIP 21444, HD 29248
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Brightest stars in Eridanus:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 5 | 3.52 | Rana |
| 6 | 3.55 | Upsilon-4 Eridani |
| 7 | 3.56 | Phi Eridani |
| 8 | 3.69 | chi Eridani |
| 9 | 3.70 | Tau-4 Eridani |
| 10 | 3.72 | Epsilon Eridani |
| 11 | 3.81 | Theemim |
| 12 | 3.86 | Sceptrum |
| 13 | 3.89 | Azha |
14
| 3.93
) Nu Eridani
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 15 | 3.97 | 43 Eridani |
| 16 | 4.01 | Mu Eridani |
| 17 | 4.04 | Beid |
| 18 | 4.08 | Tau-3 Eridani |
| 19 | 4.11 | Iota Eridani |
| 20 | 4.17 | g Eridani |
| 21 | 4.22 | Tau-6 Eridani |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Nu Eridani
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 8.4% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 19.6°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 8,225 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 8,196 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 692 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 8,167 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,533 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,917 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Nu Eridani
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 69.07975228° ±0.16 mas | 1.53 ±0.18 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -3.35244801° ±0.11 mas | -5.01 ±0.14 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 199.31173679° | 5.10 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -31.37605841° | -1.18 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 4.83 ± 0.19 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: B2IV 2009A&A...501..297Z.
Radial Velocity: 14.90 ±2.70 km/s [A rating] 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.27 dex
1992ApJ...387..673G.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | 2.82 | -3.76 |
| B | 3.72 | -2.86 |
| V | 3.93 | -2.65 |
| R | ||
| I | 4.10 | -2.48 |
| J | 4.08 | -2.49 |
| H | 4.58 | -2.00 |
| K | 4.51 | -2.07 |
B-V: -0.21 V-I: -0.17
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 206.66 pc (3.9% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,567 pc
Transverse velocity: 5.1 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -166.5 pc | -58.3 pc | -107.6 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -9.8 km/s | -8.7 km/s | -8.7 km/s |