Epsilon Eridani

Epsilon Eridani

I chose this star because of its striking similarities with the Sun.
Chemicals: elements heavier than helium, Hydrogen
Location: R.A. 03h 32m 56s, Dec. -09° 27' 30"
Stellar Classification: orange-red dwarf

One of the nearest, reasonably Sunlike stars, with about three-quarters the mass of the Sun and one-third the luminosity; it lies in the constellation Eridanus at a distance of just over 10 light-years. An orange-red dwarf, Epsilon Eridani spins relatively fast, with a rotational period of 11 days (compared with the Sun's 27 days). This quick rotation generates a comparatively strong magnetic field, which results in a lot of chromospheric activity, including large starspots, and a variable spectrum characteristic of a BY Draconis star.

Epsilon Eridani is a young star, with an age between 500 million and 1 billion years. Observations at submillimeter (very short radio) wavelengths showed that it is surrounded by a ring of dust at about the same distance as that of the Kuiper Belt from the Sun. A bright region in the ring might be caused by particles trapped around a young planet, while a partially evacuated region nearer the star might indicate the presence of other unseen worlds. The density of dust in the Eridanian system is about 1,000 times that found in the solar system today, but roughly what it would have been like in the solar system about 4 billion years ago – about 600 million years after the Earth and other planets formed, toward the end of the period of heavy bombardment.

Because of its youth, Epsilon Eridani has a higher level of magnetic activity than the present-day Sun, with a stellar wind 30 times as strong. Its rotation period is 11.2 days at the equator. Epsilon Eridani is smaller and less massive than the Sun, and has a comparatively lower level of elements heavier than helium. It is a main-sequence star of spectral class K2, which means that energy generated at the core through nuclear fusion of hydrogen is emitted from the surface at a temperature of about 5,000 K, giving it an orange hue.

Located at R.A. 03h 32m 56s, Dec. -09° 27' 30", it is classified as the spectral type of K2V.

Sources:
The Worlds of David Darling: Encyclopedia of Science. (n.d.). Epsilon Eridani. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/E/EpsEri.html

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2015, September 24). Epsilon Eridani. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Eridani

 Visible Spectra of the Elements. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://www.umop.net/spctelem.htm