Auriga

Constellation

Represents a charioteer, marked by the bright star Capella and several notable open star clusters.

Facts

TypeConstellation
Area of sky657 sq°
Brightest starCapella
Brightest star magnitudemag 0.08
HemisphereNorthern
Zodiac constellationNo
Discovered150

Auriga in context

A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.

Auriga covers 657 square degrees of sky, which is 1.6 percent of the whole celestial sphere.

That makes it the 21st largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.

It sits in the northern sky.

Its brightest star reaches magnitude 0.08, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.

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