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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Auriga » 

42 Aurigae

Altitude: 43.1°   Azimuth: 294.7°   Direction: West-North-West

42 Aurigae is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Auriga.

42 Aurigae visual magnitude is 6.52. Because of its reltive faintness, 42 Aurigae should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 42 Aurigae:

6.52
Hypergiant

42 Aurigae is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 43.1°
Azimuth: 294.7°
Direction: West-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 42 Aurigae

42 Aurigae is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 42 Aurigae are provided in the following table:

06h 17m 34s
+46° 25’ 27”
167.55°
13.89°
Auriga

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 42 Aurigae in the sky:

Finder chart 42 Aurigae star
Simplified finder chart for 42 Aurigae.

Visibility of 42 Aurigae from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

42 Aurigae is circumpolar and transits at 01:38 UTC (altitude: 84.9°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of 42 Aurigae

The image below is a photograph of 42 Aurigae from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 42 Aurigae is -0.043 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.019 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 42 Aurigae star
DSS2 image of 42 Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of 42 Aurigae during the next 10000 years (-7.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and 3.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 42 Aurigae from the Sun and relative movement

42 Aurigae is distant 235.21 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 8 kilometers per second.

72.15 pc
235.21 ly
-8 km/s
-0.043 arcsec/year
0.019 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 42 Aurigae

42 Aurigae belongs to spectral class F0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

2.23
F0V
7658K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 42 Aurigae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 42 Aurigae. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 42 Aurigae

SAO40999
SAO40999