Star profile
16 Aurigae
What is 16 Aurigae
16 Aurigae glows in amber along the figure of the Charioteer, a K-type star cooler and more golden than the Sun. Its light crosses about 232 years to reach us: it left around 1794, when Europe still trembled with the echoes of the French Revolution. A discreet presence inside a famous quadrilateral, inviting the eye to look past the constellation's brighter beacons.
Where it is and when to see it
16 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 72° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 83° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 23° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 57° S.
It ranks no. 14 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 230 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 16 Aurigae
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.54
- Distance
- 232.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 79.544° · Dec 33.372°
- Catalogue
- HIP 24727 · HD 34334
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Other stars in Auriga
Auriga has 76 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CapellaAlpha Aurigae0.08
- HYG 1183600.96
- MenkalinanBeta Aurigae1.90
- Pi Aurigae4.30
- Kappa Aurigae4.32
- Tau Aurigae4.51
- Lambda Aurigae4.69
- Chi Aurigae4.71