Achernar (HIP 7588)
Achernar is a blue main-sequence star in the constellation Eridanus. At 139 light years away, it is the 9th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.45. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 26.8 km/s relative to the Sun and is part of the Tucana / Horologium moving group. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 19,800 and 24,300 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 1.1 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude -0.27 from a distance of 100 light years.
Sky position: RA 1h 37.7m, Dec -57° 14.4'
