Star Constellations: Auriga 'the Charioteer'
Created | Updated Feb 4, 2008
| Latin: | Auriga ('charioteer') |
| Genitive: | Aurigae |
| Short form: | Aur |
| Area: | 657 sq deg |
| Co-ordinates1: | 6h, +40° |
| Origin: | Ancient |
Auriga the Charioteer features in the 48 constellations originally listed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy (c90 - 168 AD), and is one of the 88 modern constellations. Auriga is a bright northern constellation which boasts a wealth of optical treats thanks to the arm of the Milky Way running right through it. Bordering constellations are Camelopardalis, Perseus, Taurus, Gemini and Lynx. Auriga has three Messier objects; AE Aurigae (the Flaming Star Nebula); and five extrasolar planetary systems.
Stars
The scientific star names are simple to understand (if you know your Greek alphabet). For example: the 'alpha' star means that it is the brightest star in that constellation. The next brightest is designated 'beta', etc. Some stars have proper names as well; for example, alpha Aurigae is Capella; others are known by their catalogue numbers or 'designation'.
The superstar of this constellation is Capella, a multiple star system which lies a magical 42 light years away.
AE Aurigae is a curiosity because it looks like it is surrounded by smoke, which is actually hydrogen gas with traces of carbon. It's easy to understand why it has been named the 'Flaming Star'.
Star Table
| Star | Designation | Name or catalogue number | Brightness (m) | Distance (light years) | Spectral classification and/or comments |
| α Aur | Alpha Aur | Capella ('little she goat') | +0.8 | 42 | |
| β | Beta | Menkalinan | + | ||
| γ | Gamma | + | |||
| δ | Delta | + | |||
| ε | Epsilon | Al Anz | + | ||
| ζ | Zeta | Haedi | + | ||
| η | Eta | Hoedus II | + | ||
| θ | Theta | + | |||
| ι | Iota | Hassaleh | + | ||
| κ | Kappa | + | |||
| λ | Lambda | + | |||
| μ | Mu | + | |||
| ν | Nu | + | |||
| ξ | Xi | + | |||
| ο | Omicron | + | |||
| π | Pi | + | |||
| ρ | Rho | + | |||
| σ | Sigma | + | |||
| τ | Tau | + | |||
| υ | Upsilon | + | |||
| φ | Phi | + | |||
| χ | Chi | + | |||
| ψ | Psi | + | |||
| AE Aurigae | + | Flaming Star |
New General Catalogue (NGC)
The NGC catalogue was compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer (the director of the Armagh Observatory from 1882 to 1916).
NGC Table
| Catalogue | Name | Type | Brightness (m) | Distance (light years) | Remarks |
| NGC | + | ||||
| NGC | + | ||||
| NGC | + |
Extrasolar Planets in Auriga
There have been five extrasolar planetary systems found in the constellation Auriga up to 2007; the first was discovered in 2002. Figures given in the table below are the length of the planet's orbital period around its parent star, which we know of as a year. The size of the extrasolar planet is compared to the mass of Jupiter, our Solar System's largest planet, known by astronomers as the 'Jovian scale'.
Extrasolar Planets Table
| Star name or catalogue number | Planet catalogue number | Planet size (Jovian scale) | Orbital period (Earth days) | Year of discovery | Comments |
| HD 40979 | HD 40979 b | 3.8 | 264 | 2002 | Superjovian; habital zone |
| HD 49674 | HD 49674 b | 0.1 | 4.95 | 2002 | Hot gas giant |
| HD 45350 | HD 45350 b | 1.8 | 965 | 2005 | Gas giant; eccentric orbit |
| HD 43691 | HD 43691 b | 2.5 | 37 | 2007 | Hot superjovian |
| GD 66 | GD 66 b | 2.25 | 1,650 | 2007 | Superjovian |
Down to Earth
Auriga in Modern Culture
The AURIGA project is an ultracryogenic gravitational wave detector experiment at Legnaro National Laboratories, Italy.
HMS Auriga was an Amphion-class submarine of the Royal Navy, which was launched in March 1945 and scrapped in February 1975.
