From South Africa in 1964, R. Lake reported a variation of 0.7 in the visual magnitude of this star.[10] In 1973, W. P. Bidelman and D. J. MacConnell placed HR 1362 on a list of brighter stars of astrophysical interest because it displayed emission in the H and K lines, although they were uncertain of this finding.[11]F. M. Walter and S. Bowyer detected X-ray emission from this star in 1973, another indicator of magnetic activity in the chromosphere.[12] A series of measurements of the brightness of this star were made from 1979 until 1984, demonstrating it is variable with a 154-day period. At the time, this was the longest period known for a chromospherically active star.[13] By 1990, this period was revised upward to 335 days.[4]
This is an evolvingsubgiant star with a very slow rotation period of 308.8 days.[8] It is classified as a BY Draconis variable[6] that changes in luminosity as star spots rotate across the visible surface of the star.[8] The lingering magnetic field may be the result of an interaction between the remnant field from an Ap progenitor star and a deep convection zone. At a 60° axial tilt, the field can be successfully modeled as a simple dipole magnet with a persistent cool spot at the magnetic pole.[16]Asteroseismological measurements show EK Eri has 1.84 times the mass of the Sun and 5 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 15 times the luminosity of the Sun from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 5,135 K.[8]
^Houk, N.; Swift, C. (1999), "Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD Stars", Michigan Spectral Survey, 5, Bibcode:1999MSS...C05....0H.
^Lake, R. (1964), "Photoelectric Magnitudes and Colours for 100 Southern Stars (Fifth List)", Monthly Notes of the Astronomy Society of Southern Africa, 23: 136, Bibcode:1964MNSSA..23..136L.
^Bidelman, W. P.; MacConnell, D. J. (October 1973), "The brighter stars astrophysical interest in the southern sky", Astronomical Journal, 78: 687–733, Bibcode:1973AJ.....78..687B, doi:10.1086/111475. See table VII.
^Walter, F. M.; Bowyer, S. (April 1981), "On the coronae of rapidly rotating stars. I. The relation between rotation and coronal activity in RS CVn systems", Astrophysical Journal, 245: 671–676, Bibcode:1981ApJ...245..671W, doi:10.1086/158842.
^Boyd, L. J.; et al. (March 1985), "HR 1362: a Chromospherically Active Variable with a 5-month Period", Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 2696 (1): 1, Bibcode:1985IBVS.2696....1B.
Strassmeier, K. G.; et al. (March 1999), "Evolved, single, slowly rotating ... but magnetically active. The G8-giant HR 1362 = EK Eridani revisited", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 343: 175–182, Bibcode:1999A&A...343..175S.