Changes

Using long term radical velocity observations, scientists announced the discovery of a planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani in August of 2000<ref>Hatzes, Artie P. et al. (2000). "Evidence for a Long-period Planet Orbiting Epsilon Eridani". The Astrophysical Journal 544 (2): L145–L148.</ref>. In 2006, additional astrometic measurements were used to acquire more accurate and detailed information on the planet. The planet is believed to be a gas giant with an estimated mass 1.55 ±0.24 times that of [[Jupiter]], with a mean orbital distance of 3.39 ±0.36 AU, taking around 6.9 years to complete one orbit. The orbit itself is highly eccentric (e= 0.702 +±0.039). The orbit takes the planet as close as 2.4 AUs and as far as 5.8 AUs from Epsilon Eridani itself. This planet orbits just outside the innermost asteroid belt in the system.<ref>http://exoplanet.eu/papers/ms060803.pdf</ref>.

A second unconfirmed planet is believed to be possibly orbiting Epsilon Eridani some 35-40 AU away. A planet is proposed as the most likely candidate to explain the "lumpiness" observed in the star's broad, outer belt of icy particles as such action is typically caused by perturbations by one or more planetary bodies, as well as to why the area within 35 AU of the star is relatively depleted of dust. If the planet exists, it is believed to be some 30 times the mass of the [[Earth]] (or about a tenth of Jupiter's mass), and an eccentric orbit (e~0.3), taking around 280 years to complete.<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2002ApJ...578L.149Q&db_key=AST&high=3da354230f12032</ref>

Another possible world is also hypothesized due to the discovery of a ''second '' asteroid belt between the inner asteroid belt and the broad outer belt of icy bodies, comet-type bodies. Such a world would most likely be a Jupiter-class planet orbiting at roughly 20 AUs around Epsilon Eridani, which would be "shepherding" the icy, rocky bodies at the outer rim of the second outer asteroid belt, just as Epsilon Eridani b shepherds the inner asteroid belt<ref>http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2008-19/release.shtml</ref>. Further indirect evidence of a possible planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani because of asymmetries in the dust disk, which could be the result of perturbations by a substellar body around 55-65 AUs. The planet, if it exists, would have around a fifth of the mass of Jupiter.<ref>http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/LPSC99/pdf/1698.pdf</ref>