51 Aurigae

51 Aurigae is a giant star in the constellation of Auriga.

51 Aurigae visual magnitude is 5.69. Because of its reltive faintness, 51 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 51 Aurigae:

Color of 51 Aurigae ⬤

Magnitude of 51 Aurigae 5.69

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW 51 Aurigae is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 34°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 51 Aurigae

51 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 51 Aurigae are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 06h 38m 39s

Declination J2000 +39° 23’ 26”

Galactic Longitude 175.79°

Galactic Latitude 14.54°

Constellation Auriga

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 51 Aurigae in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for 51 Aurigae.

Visibility of 51 Aurigae from your location

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

51 Aurigae is circumpolar and transits at 18:07 UTC (altitude: 77.9°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of 51 Aurigae

The image below is a photograph of 51 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 51 Aurigae is -0.023 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.109 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of 51 Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of 51 Aurigae during the next 1000 years (-0.38 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.82 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 51 Aurigae from the Sun and relative movement

51 Aurigae is distant 316.50 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 33 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 97.09 pc

Distance (light year) 316.50 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 33 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.023 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.109 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 51 Aurigae

51 Aurigae belongs to spectral class K5 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.75

Spectral Type K5III

Color Index (B-V) 1.35

Temperature of 51 Aurigae 4034K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 51 Aurigae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of 51 Aurigae. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 51 Aurigae

Flamsteed designation 51 Aurigae

Henry Draper Catalogue HD47070

SAO Catalogue SAO59316

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP31771

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+39 1690

FK5 Catalogue 250

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In Evidence

Other stars in Auriga