Auriga (constellation)

From Freepedia

Auriga
Image:Auriga constellation map.png click for larger image
Abbreviation	Aur
Genitive	Aurigae
Symbology	the Charioteer
Right ascension	6 h
Declination	+40°
Area	657 sq. deg. Ranked 21st
Number of stars (magnitude < 3)	4
Brightest star	Capella (α Aur) (App. magnitude 0.08)
Meteor showers	Alpha Aurigids Delta Aurigids
Bordering constellations	Camelopardalis Perseus Taurus Gemini Lynx
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −40° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of February

Auriga (Latin for chariot) is a northern constellation. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and counts as one of the 88 modern constellations. Its brightest star is Capella, which is associated with the mythological she-goat Amalthea. The three stars Epsilon, Zeta and Eta Aurigae are called Haedi (the Kids).

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 Mythology
4 Notable and named stars
5 See also
6 External links

Notable features

Two peculiar binary stars, ε Aurigae and ζ Aurigae. ε Aurigae is one of the strangest binary stars. The orbital period is about 27 years, with an eclipse duration of about 18 months. The visible companion is a yellowish (F-class) supergiant. The type of the other star is not known. ζ Aurigae has a period of 970 days, the primary is a (K-class) supergiant and the secondary is a (B-class) main sequence star. Both these systems present a rare stage of binary evolution, as the components are in a short and active evolotionary stage.

Notable deep sky objects

Auriga contains three bright open clusters, M36, M37 and M38.

Image:Wiki letter w.pngThis section is a stub. You can help by adding to it.

Mythology

The constellation may date back to Babylonian times as Rukubi, the chariot. The Romans identified this constellation with Erichthonius, the lame son of Vulcan (whom the Greeks referred to as Hephaestus) and Minerva (whom the Greeks referred to as Athena), who invented the four-horse chariot.

Before the classical era, it was also identified as a chariot and its driver, which, considering its fainter stars visible to the naked eye, it resembles. However, the driver was considered to be a shepherd, usually one which had flung a goat over its left shoulder (due to the resemblence of that area to a lump), and had its kids (two bright stars) nearby.

Together with the area of the sky that is deserted (now considered as the new and extremely faint constellations Camelopardalis and Lynx), and the other features of the area in the Zodiac sign of Gemini (i.e. the Milky Way, and the constellations Gemini, Orion, and Canis Major), this may be the origin of the myth of the cattle of Geryon, which forms one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles.

Notable and named stars

BD	F	Names and other designations	Mag.	Ly away	Comments
α	13	Capella, Alpha Aurigae, Alhajoth, Alhaior, Althaiot, Alhaiset, Alhatod, Alhojet, Alanac, Alanat, Alioc	0.08	42.2	Latin capella is the diminutive feminine of goat Alhajoth is probably an Arabized form of the Greek αίξ, aige, meaning "ram" spectroscopic binary
β	34	Beta Aurigae, Menkalinan, Menkalina	1.90	82.1	< منكب ذي العنان mankib ðī-l-^{c^inān} Shoulder of the rein holder (charioteer) eclipsing spectroscopic binary
θ	37	Theta Aurigae, Bogardus	2.65
ι	3	Iota Aurigae, Kabdhilinan, Hassaleh	2.69		Hassaleh in Becvar < كعب ذي العنان ka^{c^{b ðī l-^{c^inān}}} The ankle of the rein holder (charioteer)
ε	7	Epsilon Aurigae, Almaaz, Maaz, Al Anz	3.03	2000	< الماعز al-mā^{c^z} The (billy) goat long period eclipsing binary
η	10	Eta Aurigae, Haedus II, Hoedus II	3.18		< hædus The kid (plural hædi with ζ Aurigae)
ζ	8	Zeta Aurigae, Sadatoni, Saclateni, Haedus I, Hoedus I	3.69	790	< الساعد الثاني as-sā^{c^{id aθ-θānī/at-tānī}} The second arm < hædus The kid (plural hædi with η Aurigae) eclipsing binary
δ	33	Delta Aurigae, Prijipati	3.72		< प्रजापति prajā pati ? Lord of creation
ν	32	Nu Aurigae	3.97
π	35	Pi Aurigae	4.30
κ	44	Kappa Aurigae	4.32
τ	29	Tau Aurigae	4.51
	16	16 Aurigae	4.54
λ	15	Lambda Aurigae	4.69
χ	25	Chi Aurigae	4.71
υ	31	Upsilon Aurigae	4.72
	2	2 Aurigae	4.79
ψ²	50	Psi-2 Aurigae	4.80
μ	11	Mu Aurigae	4.82
	1	1 Aurigae	4.89
	63	63 Aurigae	4.91
ψ¹	46	Psi-1 Aurigae	4.92
	4	4 Aurigae	4.93
ξ	30	Xi Aurigae	4.96
	9	9 Aurigae	4.98
ψ⁷	58	Psi-7 Aurigae	4.99
	14	14 Aurigae	5.01
σ	21	Sigma Aurigae	5.02
ψ⁴	55	Psi-4 Aurigae	5.04
	19	19 Aurigae	5.05
φ	24	Phi Aurigae	5.08
	65	65 Aurigae	5.12
ρ	20	Rho Aurigae	5.22
ψ⁶	57	Psi-6 Aurigae	5.22
	66	66 Aurigae	5.23
ψ⁵	56	Psi-5 Aurigae	5.24
	49	49 Aurigae	5.26
ψ³	52	Psi-3 Aurigae	5.34
	45	45 Aurigae	5.34
	40	40 Aurigae	5.35
	26	26 Aurigae	5.40
		UU Aurigae	5.40
ο	27	Omicron Aurigae	5.46
	41	41 Aurigae	5.64		binary star; component magnitudes: 6.09, 6.82
	51	51 Aurigae	5.70
	36	36 Aurigae	5.71
	48	RT Aurigae	5.75
	53	53 Aurigae	5.76
		WW Aurigae	5.82
ψ⁹		Psi-9 Aurigae	5.85
	64	64 Aurigae	5.87
	47	47 Aurigae	5.88
	39	39 Aurigae	5.90
	5	5 Aurigae	5.95
		AE Aurigae	5.99		runaway star
	54	54 Aurigae	6.02
	62	62 Aurigae	6.02
	38	38 Aurigae	6.08
	59	59 Aurigae	6.10
	17	AR Aurigae	6.15
	60	60 Aurigae	6.32
	43	43 Aurigae	6.33
	22	22 Aurigae	6.45
ψ⁸	61	Psi-8 Aurigae	6.46
	6	6 Aurigae	6.46
	42	42 Aurigae	6.53
	18	18 Aurigae	6.49
	12	12 Aurigae	6.9
		HD 45350	7.88	160	has a planet
		HD 49674	8.10	134	has a planet
γ		Gamma Aurigae			now designated β Tauri