Rana is a nearby orange star in Eridanus, an ageing star just leaving the main sequence whose Latin name, adopted by the IAU, means the frog.
At a glance
| type | orange star (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 29.5 light-years (9.04 pc) |
| its light left it | 29.5 years ago |
| luminosity | 3.52 × the Sun |
| radius | 2.36 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,150 K |
| constellation | Eridanus (River) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Rana
Rana is a class K star that has stopped burning hydrogen in its core and begun to expand into a subgiant, a few times wider than the Sun. It is one of the closer stars to the Sun among the named stars of the constellations, which makes it a useful star for studying how a star like the Sun changes as it ages.
The name is Latin for the frog. It lies in the northern course of Eridanus, not far from Epsilon Eridani, another nearby star of the river.
What you see in the piece
In the piece Rana is close enough to the Sun to stay bright as you leave Earth, while the more distant stars of the river fade around it.
Questions
How far away is Rana?
Rana is 29.5 light-years (9.04 pc) from the Sun, so the light you see left it 29.5 years ago.