Star profile
Lambda Aurigae
Nearby starWhat is Lambda Aurigae
Lambda Aurigae is one of the most studied solar twins in the sky: a yellow G-type star only 41 light-years away, with a mass, temperature and composition strikingly close to the Sun's. That familiarity has made it a frequent target in the search for planets and for subtle traces of stellar activity. It shines within Auriga, the Charioteer, not far from the little herd of kids that mythology placed at his side.
Where it is and when to see it
Lambda 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Lambda Aurigae
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.69
- Distance
- 41.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 79.785° · Dec 40.099°
- Catalogue
- HIP 24813 · HD 34411
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- Kappa Aurigae4.32
- Tau Aurigae4.51
- 16 Aurigae4.54
- Chi Aurigae4.71
- Upsilon Aurigae4.72