The primary star of the system, designated 40 Eridani A and named Keid,[20] is easily visible to the naked eye.

[23] Although it is neither the closest white dwarf, nor the brightest in the night sky, it is by far the easiest to observe; it is nearly three magnitudes brighter than Van Maanen's Star, the nearest solitary white dwarf, and unlike the companions of Procyon and Sirius it is not swamped in the glare of a much brighter primary.

The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.

When component B was a main-sequence star, it is thought to have been the most massive member of the system at 1.8 M☉, but ejected much of its mass before it became a white dwarf.

As for 40 Eridani C, it is prone to flares, which cause large momentary increases in the emission of X-rays as well as visible light.

[32] The candidate planet would have had a minimum mass of 8.47±0.47 M🜨, and lie considerably interior to the habitable zone, receiving nine times more stellar flux than Earth, which is an even greater amount than Mercury, the innermost planet in the Solar System, on average receives from the Sun.

[34][32] The hypothetical planet 40 Eridani A b is also mentioned in the book Project Hail Mary as the home of the eponymous Eridian species.