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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
SunriseRise: 5:55  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 20:00
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Auriga » 

ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae)

Altitude: 79.7°   Azimuth: 158.7°   Direction: South-South-East

ρ Aurigae is a main-sequence star in the constellation of Auriga.

ρ Aurigae visual magnitude is 5.23. Because of its reltive faintness, ρ Aurigae should be visible only from locations with dark skies, while it is not visible at all from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of ρ Aurigae is 0.018 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.037 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae) star
DSS2 image of ρ Aurigae. The red arrow shows the motion of ρ Aurigae during the next 10000 years (3.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -6.17 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about ρ Aurigae

5.23
Main-sequence

ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 79.7°
Azimuth: 158.7°
Direction: South-South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ρ Aurigae

ρ 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 ρ Aurigae are provided in the following table:

05h 21m 48s
+41° 48’ 15”
166.56°
2.93°
Auriga

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

Finder chart ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae) star
Simplified finder chart for ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae).

Visibility of ρ Aurigae from your location

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

ρ Aurigae (rho Aurigae) is circumpolar and transits at 15:28 UTC (altitude: 80.3°)

Distance of ρ Aurigae from the Sun and relative movement

ρ Aurigae is distant 641.73 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 13 kilometers per second.

196.85 pc
641.73 ly
13 km/s
0.018 arcsec/year
-0.037 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ρ Aurigae

ρ Aurigae belongs to spectral class B3 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

-1.24
B3V
12489K

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

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

Alternative designations of ρ Aurigae

ρ Aurigae
(rho Aurigae)
SAO40269
SAO40269