--- author: Eric Wagoner date: '2000-08-07T01:04:57' draft: false title: Astronomers and others the world --- Astronomers and others the world over are have been excited over the announcement of a planet found around Epsilon Eridani, a star close enough to us that the planet itself might be visible with the Hubbell telescope. The news is hardly suprising, however, since Epsilon Eridani is the home [of a Starship Tour Operator](http://web.tiscalinet.it/eesto/index.htm) and has [eleven well-documented planets](http://www.eldacur.com/~brons/NerdCorner/StarGen/Epsilon-Eridani-38.html). The system even has a president, [a Mr. Pierre Benton](http://www.kerensky.tierranet.com/btech/chaosmarch/eper.html). This isn't the first time that the star system has been in the news. Two years ago, a team in Hawaii [announced they had imaged](http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/epsilon.html) a dust ring and possible planets around the star. If you'd like to see the star for yourself (it's a bright star, easily seen with the naked eye), use [this picture to help you](http://www.space.com/cgi-bin/click2enlarge.pl?picture=/images/h_skywatch_12.28_eridanus.jpg) find it. Epsilon Eridani is the star labelled in the top center.