Star profile

Capella

Alpha Aurigae · Auriga

Red giant

3D likeness based on its real data · class M · ~3,200 K

What is Capella

Capella is the great yellow giant of Auriga, the sixth-brightest star in the night sky and an unmistakable beacon of the northern hemisphere. About 43 light-years away, its Latin name means «the little she-goat» and Roman skywatchers tied it to Amaltea, the goat who nursed the infant Zeus. Its warm golden glow — in truth a blend of several stars the unaided eye cannot separate — takes barely four decades to reach an observer looking up tonight.

Where it is and when to see it

Capella lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 84° up.
From New York it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 10° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 44° S.

It is the brightest of the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.

The light you see today left it about 43 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Capella

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 0.08
Distance: 42.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 79.172° · Dec 45.998°
Catalogue: HIP 24608 · HD 34029

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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