Auriga (constellation)
Auriga is a constellation in the northern sky. It is the Latin word for "charioteer" - someone who drives a vehicle that is pulled by an animal. The astronomer Ptolemy listed Auriga in the 2nd century when he was writing a list of 48 constellations.
 Click for larger image | |
| List of stars in Auriga | |
| Abbreviation: | Aur[1] |
| Genitive: | Aurigae |
| Symbology: | |
| Right ascension: | 6 h |
| Declination: | +40° |
| Area: | 657[2] sq. deg. (21st) |
| Main stars: | 5, 8 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars: | 65 |
| Stars known to have planets: | 7 |
| Bright stars: | 4 |
| Nearby stars: | 2 |
| Brightest star: | Capella (α Aur) (0.08m) |
| Nearest star: | QY Aur[3] ( ly) |
| Messier objects: | 3[4] |
| Meteor showers: | |
| Bordering constellations: | |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −40° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of late February to early March | |
Auriga (constellation) Media
A painting by Peter Paul Rubens entitled Finding of Erichthonius; Erichthonius and Auriga are often associated.
Auriga carrying the goat and kids as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards illustrated by Sidney Hall, London c. 1825.
The constellation Auriga as it can be seen by the naked eye.
A size comparison of the four stars in the Capella system and the Sun.
An artist's rendering of the Epsilon Aurigae system.
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), and its neighbor IC 410, along with AE Aurigae, which illuminates the nebula.
A photograph of M36, clearly showing its characteristic knot of bright stars and its concentration
A photograph of M37, showing its obviously larger size and its notable brightness
A photograph of M38; its characteristic shape, clearly visible to an observer in a telescope, is obscured by the greater number of stars revealed by a long-exposure photograph.
A picture of NGC 1893 obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope. An association of recently formed stars is surrounded by the nebula IC 410.
References
Citations
- ↑ Russell 1922, p. 469.
- ↑ Ridpath, Constellations.
- ↑ RECONS, The 100 Nearest Star Systems.
- ↑ Bakich 1995, p. 54.
- ↑ Bakich 1995, p. 26.
References
- Bakich, Michael E. (1995). The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44921-2.
- Pasachoff, Jay M. (2006). Stars and Planets. Maps and charts by Wil Tirion (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-93432-6.
- Ridpath, Ian. "Constellations". Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- "The 100 Nearest Star Systems". Research Consortium on Nearby Stars. 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- Ridpath, Ian; Tirion, Wil (2009). The Monthly Sky Guide (8th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-13369-2.
- Russell, Henry Norris (October 1922). "The New International Symbols for the Constellations". Popular Astronomy. 30: 469. Bibcode:1922PA.....30..469R.
