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Constellations: Eridanus -- The River claimed by Everyone

Myth

This is a river claimed by virtually everyone, from the Po, to the Rhine, Rhône, Ebro, Radaune, Nile and Euphrates. Most of all we associate it with the story of Phaethon, and his disastrous attempt to guide his father's sun chariot across the sky. He fell at last into the river, his sisters weeping tears of amber by the riverbank where he fell. Some versions of the myth tell of Zeus placing the river into the sky to comfort the grieving sun god.

Maps

Each map can be clicked on to produce a 909x1149 version of it. They sport red labels, which look good on screen, but which disappear when used with red flashlights. Each map, therefore has a second link to a map better suited for printing in a graphics program, and using in the field. While they are quite large, they are all about 50k, and so are easy to view at today's modem speeds. The first map is a wide area view of the constellation, suitable for naked eye browsing. The next views are binocular width, showing stars to mag. 10, deepsky objects to mag. 12.9, and labeling deepsky objects to magnitude 12.

Interactive, wide area map of northern Eridanus

Map thumbnail

Click the map for a 909x1149 version of the above. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

Interactive, wide area map of southern Eridanus

Map thumbnail

Click the map for a 909x1149 version of the above. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

North-east View

These are more detailed views of the constellation. The map displays stars to magnitude 10, and deepsky objects to magnitude 12.

Map thumbnail

Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

North-west View

Map thumbnail

Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

Central Eridanus

Map thumbnail

Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

Southern Eridanus

Map thumbnail

Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.

Images

Image thumbnail 3k JPEG NGC1535 (Bennett 22, Best 52) is a planetary nebula described as very bright, small, and round. The middle is fairly small, and very abruptly brighter. Overall, Dreyer states the nebula is resolvable, but mottled. Steve Coe observed with a 13" under good conditions and found the central star easy. He was also able to distinguish the inner and fainter outer gas shell. The central star and the outer shell are not visible in an 8". It sits 4° ENE of Zaurak (Gamma Eridani). Image is a composite of four exposures taken with an SBIG ST-6 on a 24" Ritchey-Chretien by Richard Colman and David H. Spiers.
Map Printable Map

Image thumbnail 106k JPEG NGC1399 (Bennett 19) is the brightest and largest of a host of galaxies in this image that spans the border of Fornax and Eridanus. Dreyer calls this elliptical very bright (mag. 9.8), fairly large (3'x3'), with a pronounced core. He also calls it very resolvable!? Perhaps he refers to a foreground star that sits 20" north of the nucleus. 1399 sits in the far left (east) of the photograph. Just below it (and accross the border in Eridanus) lies NGC1404 (Bennett 20 at mag. 10.9). The galaxy pair NGCs 1387 (mag. 11.7) and 1379 (mag. 12), present also in the image below lies due west of NGC1399. Just below (south) lies NGC1389. Just above, lies the much elongated NGC1381 (mag. 12.6). To the far right lies the pair NGCs 1374 (mag. 12 and top) and 1375 (mag. 13 and bottom). At the top of the image lies the elongated NGC1380 (mag. 11).
Map Printable Map

Image thumbnail 43k JPEG NGC1291 (Bennett 12) is a barred spiral galaxy described as very bright (mag. 9.4), fairly large (9.7' x 8.1'), with a much brighter middle. A 12" should just show the oval shaped bar, surrounded by a faint ring. It sits 3.7° ESE of Acamar (Theta Eridani). Image from the Digital Sky Survey.
Map Printable Map

Image thumbnail34k JPEG Image thumbnail45k JPEG

870k JPEG
NGC1232 (Bennett 10a, Best 51) is a spiral galaxy located in western Eridanus just north of Fornax, and 2.5° WNW of 16 (Tau 4) Eridani. Dreyer described it as fairly bright (mag. 9.9), quite large (7.4'x6.5'), round, gradually brighter middle, resolvable, and mottled. An 8" telescope under less than pristine conditions will see a bright core in a diffuse halo. Mottling appears at moderately low power (100-150x) with larger telescopes (13") under very dark skies.

Image on the left is a ten minute exposure by Jerry Mulchin. He used a 10" SCT, an SBIG ST-8 with AO-7 adaptive optics. Color image on the right is from a slightly larger telescope, the 8.2m VLT run by the European Southern Observatory.
Map Printable Map

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