ABSTRACT
Eridanus is a long, straggling constellation which runs from near Orion to the far south. Its leader, Achernar, is one of the brightest stars in the sky, and is the nearest of the first-magnitude stars to the south celestial pole. It is pure white, with a luminosity about 400 times that of the Sun; it is 85 light-years away. The Fornax cluster of galaxies is quite populous, but its leading system, NGC 1316, is only of magnitude 8.8. The nearest fairly identifiable star is Lambda (5.9, K0). Horologium is also very obscure, but it does contain a bright globular cluster NGC 1261 (C87), well within the range of a small telescope. Alpha and Delta make up a wide pair (though they are not genuinely associated) and differ in colour; Alpha is orange, Delta white. R, T and U Horologii are Mira variables. The brightest of them, R, can rise to magnitude 4.7 at maximum.
