Star profile

9 Aurigae

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is 9 Aurigae

9 Aurigae, designated V398 Aurigae, was among the first stars recognised as a Gamma Doradus variable, identified by Krisciunas and Guinan in 1990. It pulses with a 1.258-day period through non-radial oscillations that ripple across its surface, drifting gently between magnitudes 4.93 and 5.03. At just 86 light-years —a relatively close neighbour of the Sun—, it is also a multiple system, with a single-lined spectroscopic binary as its main component.

Where it is and when to see it

9 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 never sets and culminates about 90° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 79° up.
From Sydney it culminates about 5° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 38° S.

It ranks no. 25 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 86 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 9 Aurigae

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 4.98
Distance: 85.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 76.669° · Dec 51.598°
Catalogue: HIP 23783 · HD 32537

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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