Achernar

Dropped on its head once too many times

The Uranus of stars, this is a terrific and interesting starting point for amateurs for many reasons:

You'll get a satisfying (and hilarious*) image from astrophotography attempts
It is really bright. (In fact, it's Number 8)
It is easy to find as the last star in the fairly big Eridanus constellation.
It mostly spites us evil Northerners for Southern Hemisphere stargazers.
The star lies fairly far away from other first-magnitude stars.
Achernar lies near some points of interest, such as Epsilon Eridani, the Phoenix constellation, NGC1535, and over 2 dozen other galaxies.
Achernar will kill my family if you don't do as it says.
Eridanus, the constellation it lies in, is next to Aquarius, another fun piece of celestial real estate.
You would be studying a star that even hypnotizes a a few of the pros.
Achernar will probably kill your family too if you don't do as it says.

Related Links