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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: 7:38  
clear_day Transit: 11:46  
SunsetSet: 15:54 south
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All Constellations » Auriga » 

48 Aurigae

Altitude: 48.0°   Azimuth: 100.3°   Direction: East

48 Aurigae is a variable supergiant star in the constellation of Auriga.

48 Aurigae visual magnitude is 5.55. Because of its reltive faintness, 48 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 48 Aurigae:

5.55
Supergiant

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

Altitude: 48.0°
Azimuth: 100.3°
Direction: East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 48 Aurigae

48 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 48 Aurigae are provided in the following table:

06h 28m 34s
+30° 29’ 35”
183.15°
8.92°
Auriga

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 48 Aurigae in the sky:

Finder chart 48 Aurigae star
Simplified finder chart for 48 Aurigae.

Visibility of 48 Aurigae from your location

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

Today's 48 Aurigae rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 59.5°
Max altitude: 69.0°
Azimuth: 300.5°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 48 Aurigae

The image below is a photograph of 48 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 48 Aurigae is 0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.013 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 48 Aurigae star
DSS2 image of 48 Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of 48 Aurigae during the next 10000 years (0.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 48 Aurigae from the Sun and relative movement

48 Aurigae is distant 1,559.81 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 22 kilometers per second.

478.47 pc
1,559.81 ly
22 km/s
0.002 arcsec/year
-0.013 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 48 Aurigae

48 Aurigae belongs to spectral class F8 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a supergiant star.

-2.85
F8I
5671K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 48 Aurigae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 48 Aurigae. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 48 Aurigae

SAO59128
SAO59128