What is the constellation Auriga?
The Coachman (Auriga according to the name of the International Astronomical Union) is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations mentioned by Ptolemy, and also one of the 88 modern constellations. Its brightest star is Chapel -one of the brightest – associated with the myth of Amalthea.
Characteristics
We found two peculiar binary stars, ε Aurigae and ζ Aurigae. ε Aurigae is one of the largest binary stars. It has an orbital period of about 27 years with an eclipse lasting about 18 months. The visible companion is a yellow (F-class) supergiant star. The type of the other star is unknown.
Both systems present a rare scenario for the evolution of binary stars, since the two components are in an active evolutionary period.
Main stars Auriga
Chapel (α Aurigae)
The brightest star in the constellation of the Coachman, Chapel (α Aurigae) is a yellow giant star of apparent magnitude 0.08, the sixth brightest in the sky, and the closest first magnitude star to the north celestial pole.
Chapel It’s not very far; 42 light years from Earth, it is part of the 100 closest to our system. What characterizes it is that it is a double star, two yellow stars of class G, each 10 times larger than the Sun, two giants separated by 0.60 AU.
Its name means «Cabrelles» in Latin and it is the goat that the coachman carries on his shoulder. In Greek mythology, it is assimilated with Amalthea.
AE Aurigae
AE Aurigaea blue-white star In appearance banal, of apparent magnitude 5.99, distant about 1,400 light-years, it is one of the three «runaway stars» («runaway stars» in English), which move very quickly through space. The other two stars are μ Columbae and 53 Arietis, the three seem to move at a speed of about 100 km / s from the same point in the Orion nebula (constellation) and more precisely ι Orionis. According to one theory, these stars would have originally been part of a multiple system that should have disaggregated due to the supernova explosion of one of its members about 3 million years ago, projecting the other three stars in different directions.
Other stars
Menkalinan (β Gold)which in Arabic means the coachman’s shoulder, is a multiple and variable star of apparent magnitude 1.90.
Almaaz (ε Gold), Hoedus I (ζ Gold) and Hoedus II (η Gold) They are called the goats. Almaaz It is one of the strangest double stars: its orbital period is 27 years, with an eclipse of 18 months. The visible companion is a yellow supergiant; the type of the other star is unknown. Hoedus Y is a binary star, with a period of 970 days, composed of a supergiant and a blue main sequence star.
Celestial bodies Auriga
In Charioteer We can also find many open clusters: M36, M37, and NGC 2,281
History The Coachman
The coachman It is part of the 48 constellations of Ptolemy’s repertoire, called the Almagest, as already mentioned.
This constellation represents a man carrying a goat on his back, followed by two or three goats. It is possible that its name comes from the Babylonians who called it the Chariot (Rubik). The Greeks had assimilated it to Ericthonius (Not to be confused with Erechtheus. Another spelling for Erictonius, it could be Erictho), Athenian hero who would have invented the chariot with four horses.