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public LocationGreenwich, United Kingdom
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:22 
Transit: 12:55 
Sunset: 20:28
sunny   (Daytime)   What's Visible Now?

λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae)

Altitude: 53.9°   Azimuth: 271.9°   Direction: West

λ Aurigae is a multiple sub-giant star in the constellation of Auriga.

λ Aurigae visual magnitude is 4.71. Because of its moderate brightness, λ Aurigae should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of λ Aurigae is 0.519 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.664 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae) star
DSS2 image of λ Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of λ Aurigae during the next 1000 years (8.65 arcmin in Right Ascension and -11.07 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about λ Aurigae

4.71
Sub-giant

λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.

Altitude: 53.9°
Azimuth: 271.9°
Direction: West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of λ Aurigae

λ 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 λ Aurigae are provided in the following table:

05h 19m 08s
+40° 05’ 57”
167.67°
1.54°
Auriga

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

Finder chart λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae) star
Simplified finder chart for λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae).

Visibility of λ Aurigae from your location

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

λ Aurigae (lambda Aurigae) is circumpolar and transits at 14:19 UTC (altitude: 78.6°)

Distance of λ Aurigae from the Sun and relative movement

λ Aurigae is distant 41.22 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 66 kilometers per second.

12.65 pc
41.22 ly
66 km/s
0.519 arcsec/year
-0.664 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of λ Aurigae

λ Aurigae belongs to spectral class G1 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

4.20
G1IV
5853K

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

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

λ Aurigae star system properties

λ Aurigae is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of small or medium telescopes. The table below shows key information about the λ Aurigae double sysyem:

4.71
9.61
4.9
146.6 arcsec

Alternative designations of λ Aurigae

λ Aurigae
(lambda Aurigae)
SAO40233
SAO40233