40 Eridani - General Information

General Information

40 Eridani A is a main-sequence dwarf of spectral type K1. Its two companion stars, 40 Eridani B and 40 Eridani C, are a 9th magnitude white dwarf (spectral type DA4) and an 11th magnitude red dwarf flare star (spectral type M4.5e) which has the variable star designation DY Eridani. Presumably, while B was a main-sequence star, it was the most massive member of the system, but ejected most of its mass before it became a white dwarf. B and C orbit each other approximately 400 astronomical units from the primary star, A. Their orbit has a semimajor axis of 35 AU (which is also the approximate average distance between B and C) and is rather elliptical (eccentricity 0.410).

Although 40 Eridani B is neither the closest white dwarf, nor the brightest in the night sky, it is by far the easiest to observe; it is nearly three magnitudes brighter than Van Maanen's Star (the nearest solitary white dwarf), and unlike the companions of Procyon and Sirius it is not swamped in the glare of a much brighter primary.