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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:28 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:00
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All Constellations » Auriga » 

Capella - α Aurigae (alpha Aurigae)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 71.92°   Az: 97.17°   Direction: East

Capella, also designated as α Aurigae (alpha Aurigae), is a variable and multiple giant star of spectral class G5 in the constellation of Auriga.

Capella visual magnitude is 0.08, making it the 6th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Capella is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of Capella - α Aurigae (alpha Aurigae) star
DSS2 image of Capella. The red arrow shows the motion of Capella during the next 1000 years (1.27 arcmin in Right Ascension and -7.08 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

05h 18m 32s
+46° 01’ 25”
22h 14m 40s
03h 33m 13s

J2000

05h 16m 41s
+45° 59’ 53”

Galactic Coordinates

162.58°
4.57°

Finder Chart

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Finder chart for Capella - α Aurigae (alpha Aurigae).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

0.08
Giant

-0.48
G5III
5281K

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

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

Star System Properties

Capella is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Capella double sysyem:

0.08
0.58
0.5
0 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

Capella is distant 42.18 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 30 kilometers per second.

12.94
42.18
30 km/s
0.076 arcsec/y
-0.425"/y

Alternative Designations

Capella
α Aurigae
(alpha Aurigae)
SAO40186
SAO40186
Gl 194 A

Visibility from Your Location

Capella - α Aurigae (alpha Aurigae) is circumpolar and transits at 20:05 UTC (altitude: 84.5°)