Gamma Eridani is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Eridanus

Eridanus (constellation)

Eridanus is a constellation. It is represented as a river; its name is the Ancient Greek name for the Po River. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the sixth largest of the modern...

. It has the traditional name Zaurak, which means "the boat."

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Celestial Meadows

Hairy Head (Chinese constellation)

The Hairy Head mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger.This mansion corresponds to the Pleiades in English.-Asterisms:...

, refers to an asterism consisting of γ Eridani, δ Eridani

Delta Eridani

Delta Eridani is a 3.54 magnitude star in the constellation of Eridanus. It is also called Rana. The name Rana means "the frog" in Latin...

, π Eridani, ε Eridani

Epsilon Eridani

Epsilon Eridani is a star in the southern constellation Eridanus, along a declination 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows the star to be viewed from most of the Earth's surface. At a distance of 10.5 light years , it has an apparent magnitude of 3.73...

, ζ Eridani , η Eridani

Eta Eridani

Eta Eridani is a star in the constellation Eridanus. It has the traditional name Azha . The word Azha is a corruption of Persian آشيانه āšiyāne The nest...

, π Ceti

Pi Ceti

Pi Ceti is a Class B7, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Cetus. Pi Ceti is a blue main-sequence star located about 440 light-years from Earth.-Name:...

, τ¹ Eridani, τ² Eridani

Tau2 Eridani

Tau2 Eridani is a star in the constellation Eridanus . It is one of a series of stars that share the Bayer designation Tau Eridani...

, τ³ Eridani, τ⁴ Eridani

Tau4 Eridani

Tau4 Eridani is a Class M3.5III, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Eridanus. Tau4 Eridani is a binary star system consisting primarily of Class M components, the brightest component being a Class M giant of apparent magnitude 3.66, having a mass and luminosity many times greater than that...

, τ⁵ Eridani, τ⁶ Eridani, τ⁷ Eridani, τ⁸ Eridani and τ⁹ Eridani. Consequently, γ Eridani itself is known as

Structure

Zaurak has an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of +2.95 and is of spectral type

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 M0.5IIICa-ICr -. It is 150 light years from Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

• Coordinates (equinox 2000):
  • Right ascension
    Right ascension
    Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:...
    
     3h58m1.7s
  • declination
    Declination
    In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and...
    
     −13°30'31"

Namesakes

USS Zaurak (AK-117)

USS Zaurak (AK-117)

USS Zaurak was an commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone....

 was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Crater class cargo ship

Crater class cargo ship

Crater-class cargo ship is a category of freighter that was constructed for use by the United States Navy during World War II under Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 type....

named after the star.