Seeing Azha (Eta Eridani) in Northern Hemisphere

Question

When I use Stellarium, I am unable to see Azha in London or Atlanta, Georgia. However, it is possible to see Azha in Tokyo and Auckland.

I am not changing the time, only the location. I presume that my time is converted to their time. So for example, if my time is 11:30 (London) then when I select Tokyo, I should see what the sky is like at 11:30 Tokyo time.

I can see Azha in Auckland too. I would've thought the ability to see a star is based on N/S hemisphere not E/W hemisphere. Is it right I should be able to see Azha in the Eastern Hemisphere but in the West or am I using Stellarium incorrectly?

I am asking because of the Eta Eridanids. They might be an obscure or a disappointing meteor shower. The reason for such differing locations was to see where in the world it's possible to see them.

Answer 1

Eta Eridani has a declination of about -8 degrees, so it is visible from most of the Northern Hemisphere. Eridanus is a constellation that is next to Orion, and like Orion, it is easiest to see during winter.

The Eta Eridanids are a meteor shower that have a peak on about 11th of August. The radiant on that date is just south of Eta Eridani, at about -11 degrees. On 11th of August, Eta Eridani rises at about 3am in London, About an hour before twilight.

Tokyo, which is much further south, and doesn't use Daylight saving, sees Eta Eridani rise at about 1am (local time).

When you change location in Stellarium the time doesn't change. So if you change from London at 3am in August (UTC+1), the time in Tokyo will be 11 am (UTC+9).

The Eta Eridanids are a minor shower with a ZHR of about 6 meteors per hour They will be visible whenever the radiant is above the horizon, but from more northern locations it is only visible for a short time. It also clashes with the Perseids. One may only see a couple of Eta Eridanids during the viewing window, which is why it was only identified in 2005.