Achernar

Achernar (ā'kurnär") [key], brightest star in the constellation Eridanus; Bayer designation α Eridani; 1992 position R.A. 1^h37.4^m, Dec. -57°16'. A bluish-white white star with apparent magnitude 0.51, it is one of the 10 brightest stars in the entire sky. Its distance is about 120 light-years, and its luminosity about 600 times that of the sun. Achernar is of spectral class B5 V. Its name is from the Arabic meaning “end of the river [Eridanus].”

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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