original post in June 2022 - updated June 2023
My writings and researches inspired me, to write a "timeless" and over time "expanding" post about this truly mysterious long constellation...
This is the official astronomical constellation map and as such in reference to the celestial equator.
In Astrology we use a coordinate system in reference to the ecliptic...
The constellation starts at the star Kursa (beta - upper corner 5h - -5degrees), close to the star Rigel of Orion. In ancient times, Eridanus was believed to be directly linked to Orion and others did link it even to the very bright star Canopus of Carina (brightest star of the ancient constellation Argo Navis - now in "ship parts")...
Eridanus ends at the star Achernar (alpha) at roughly 20 degrees sidereal Aquarius - here not only the river of life flows but also the water out of the Aquarian urn, both into the "open mouth" of Pisces Austrinus...
So, it's a pretty long constellation and it takes some "curves and winds" as well...
Eridanus is south of the ecliptic and therefore not a zodiac constellation, yet it's one of the 15 equatorial constellations - meaning if imagining the Earth equator going out and out and out....
It's a constellation with many named stars but what really is striking, there are 32 stars found with orbiting planets and some of those planets seem to be pretty big as well (near Jupiter's size)....
Not one "Messier object" in Eridanus though - Charles Messier (1730 - 1817) was a very active Astronomer who is credited with many discoveries and his catalogue of 110 objects (mainly clusters and some nebulae) is still in use as the "Messier catalogue"... He was known as a "comet-hunter" and made the catalogue to make it easier to distinguish between "transiting" and "fixed" objects...
So, it's interesting because of what is NOT there - but why??? - Well, I guess after you read the stories below and then what I did find out, you'll be in "wonder" too ;-)
The story that is usually associated with Eridanus is as follows:
Phaeton as Helios' (Apollo) son asked many times to steer the chariot with the Sun through the sky. After many time receiving a "no" as an answer, one day he was allowed to do and reminded by his father to go the "beaten tracks" and to be careful, off he went....
He couldn't control the horses went straight up into the sky, then very far down and he burnt some places on Earth and other things happened while being out of control...
Zeus watched this from afar and was shocked and didn't know what else to do than to use his thunderbolt to get the chariot down. Phaeton fell into the river Eridanus - Helios though was very, very sad and couldn't get up to bring the Sun on it's course for several days....
As a side note - the constellation Auriga with its bright star Capella north of the ecliptic, over the Taurus-Gemini cusp is representing the Charioteer....
Some believe that Eridanus does represent the path Phaeton took with his unfortunate "ride".
There's also a Babylonian association with the constellation Eridanus. According a theory, the name Eridanus comes from the name of a Babylonian constellation known as the Star of Eridu, which was also the name of a city as the "sacred city" of the god Enki-Ea. Eridanus is sometimes also called the "river of forgetfulness"....
There are also stories associated directly to stars - especially to those in the first move through sidereal Aries (stars with where the constellation "falls in", marking it to form like a heart...
Aries part of Eridanus
Star Rana (epsilon Eridani - ca. 25 degrees sid. Aries)
holds a planetary system similar to ours (well 2 planets so far known). Ran is the name-giving Nordic goddess of the Sea together with her husband Aegir. She's said to capture sea-men in a big net and in the story sea-monsters are also mentioned (think of Cetus). Ran is from an "god family" of war and government... She and Aegir got 9 daughters which are representing waves....
Interestingly the "star" Tau Eridani actually consists of 9 stars but it's said that they're not "related" (astronomically/according to current physics)...
Star Zibal (zeta Eridani)
according to Wikipedia this name resulted from an old misreading of the Arabic - it would be "Ri 'al" which means "ostrich chicks"...
Star Azha (eta Eridani)
got it's name from an Arabic asterism udḥiyy al-naʽām "the ostrich nest" (or "hatching place") - in Chinese it's the "6th star of the celestial meadows"....
It's classified as a K3 star with roughly 60 times the luminosity of the Sun. It seems kind of "special" as a "mild Barium star" (chemical element) being "alone" - as usually Barium-stars are found in binary systems...
Azha also marks a turning point of the river, now flowing back into the direction of Taurus...
Pisces part of Eridanus
Acamar (theta Eridani) at ca. 28 degrees sid. Pisces
This star was the "first end" of the river - Acamar shares the Arabic name root as being the river's end with the alpha star of Eridanus.
In Chinese, Acamar did mean the "6th star of the celestial orchard".
Acamar is a binary star system - both white class A stars. According to Jim Kaler, Theta 1 an A4 giant with a luminosity of 96 times that of the Sun and Theta 2 an A1 dwarf with a luminosity 36 times that of the Sun.
The color white is associated with purity, spirituality etc. - an orchard is associated with rewards, plentitude, fullness and flow.... yet, the journey continues...
Chi Eridani - ca. 1 degree 16 minutes sidereal Pisces
According to Jim Kaler, this star is used as a "pointer" to 2 stars in Horologium - yet, it's most interesting feature is, that it seems to go through evolutionary processes much faster than "normal" (if we even know what that is when it comes to stars) - the star is currently classified as G8/G9 which, I think puts it as being yellowish to light orange with weaker hydrogen. It also seems to hold at least one planet....
I really find this correlation "funny" - this star evolves fast and is used as a pointer to Horologium, the clock - don't you agree ;-)
Aquarius part of Eridanus
Achernar (alpha Eridani) at ca. 20 degrees sid. Aquarius
is a binary system and got it's name from Arabic and translates "end of the river".
Yet - another confusion - it seems that this Arabic origin also applies to the star Acamar (theta Eridani)... well, if they saw the end of Eridanus with Acamar and not Achernar - what was Achernar been assigned to and representing or was Achernar just "missed out" because of it's southern location (probably why it's also the only 1st Magnitude-Star not listed in Ptolemy's catalogue) - it would be interesting to know what people in the southern hemisphere did tell about this bright star....
The Chinese aren't of help here, as they couldn't observe it and therefore did kind of "copy" the Western catalogue - yet, there Achernar marks the beginning....
This star is also in it's form special - it's very "oblate", called the "least spherical star" so far studied... it's said that this might be caused by it's very high rotation speed....
"Specialty" of Eridanus?
Now the really strange thing I discovered, without being able to really "locate" it on any constellation map exactly but....
we got hints.... what am I talking about? Well, there is something called the "CMB cold spot" - this area could only be discovered by using microwave data...
It's a big area that seems to lack warmth and also galaxies....
Now the cold spot was discovered a while ago but now they also detected a massive "Super void" that is connected to this cold spot or may explain it.... This Super void was at first (discovery published December 2021) estimated to be 1 billion lightyears across but now even estimated to be 1,8 billion ly in a "cigar like form/shape"...
In the article by resonancescience. org, you'll find a lot of scientific explanation and maps included that gave me the hint, the CMB to be located roughly south of the star Ran...
Now remember Ran being the sea-goddess that did capture seamen and according to myth, pulled them down into the "abyss".... coincidence!!??
Well, we Astrologers (never mind of which "school") may need to examine charts about this specific region too, lol.... Please, let me know what you come up with!!!!
Eridanus holds even more mysteries
You thought it's enough mystery now with Eridanus.... sorry, giggles.... Well, you see, when I research I always struggle over a LOT ;-)
A 2022 article by sci-news. com
Yeah, if you thought stars either explode or not - that article will teach you something....
(we might have observed something similar a few years ago with the star Betelgeuse of Orion - just a personal note)
A supernova is a very "violent" occurrence" and its remedies do give enormous energies off and of course, the initial "explosion" itself does send "shock-waves" throughout big regions... The "location" of this incident was in the galaxy NGC1309 we see it's (on flat paper) not far from Ran neither - ecliptically I think still in Aries...
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Credits/references:
Credit/References: all charts are created using the free software by Astrodienst.com - choose "extended chart selections".... sidereal Zodiac (Galactic Equator Fiorenza)
Nick Anthony Fiorenza - lunar planer (website no longer available directly but in internet archives)
Dane Rudhyar - many publications and books.... available through "Rudhyar Archival Project"... by Astrology University..... by Michael Meyer on Khaldea.com
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