Star profile

Omega Aurigae

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Omega Aurigae

Omega Aurigae is a white A-type star 170 light-years away, inside the great pentagon that shapes the Charioteer, close to the blaze of Capella. Its surface tops 9,000 degrees, and its glow is the clean result of hydrogen fusion in full swing: a star in unhurried youth, undramatic but with that spectral purity proper to A-types still on the main sequence.

Where it is and when to see it

Omega Aurigae lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 76° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 18° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 52° S.

It ranks no. 23 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 170 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Omega Aurigae

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 4.93
Distance: 170.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 74.814° · Dec 37.890°
Catalogue: HIP 23179 · HD 31647

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Other stars in Auriga

Auriga has 76 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 76 stars in Auriga