Omicron1 Eridani

Omicron¹ Eridani, also named Beid, is a variable star in the constellation of Eridanus. With an average apparent visual magnitude of 4.04, it is visible to the naked eye on a clear, dark night. Based upon parallax measurements, it lies approximately 122 light-years from the Sun.

Nomenclature

ο¹ Eridani is the star's Bayer designation.
The system bears the traditional name Beid derived from the Arabic word بيض meaning "eggs".
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Beid for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
In Chinese, 九州殊口, meaning Interpreters of Nine Dialects, refers to an asterism consisting of ο¹ Eridani, 39 Eridani, Xi Eridani, Nu Eridani, 56 Eridani and 55 Eridani. Consequently, the Chinese name for Omicron¹ Eridani itself is 九州殊口二.

Properties

ο¹ Eridani is an evolved F-type giant star with a stellar classification of F0 III. It is a Delta Scuti variable star that undergoes non-radial pulsations, with a variation of just 0.03 magnitude over a period of 0.0747 days. The star is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 108.1 km/s and a rotation period of less than around 1.9 days. This is creating an equatorial bulge that is 11% wider than the polar radius. Omicron¹ Eridani has nearly double the mass of the Sun, 3.7 times the Sun's radius, and shines with 27 times the solar luminosity from an outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 6,963 K.