Star profile
Chi Aurigae
Hot blue starWhat is Chi Aurigae
Chi Aurigae is a blue supergiant of extreme luminosity, lying at an unusually vast distance for a star still visible to the naked eye. So hot that its bluish surface radiates chiefly in the ultraviolet, and so massive that its lifespan is measured in only a few million years. A solitary beacon in Auriga, shining with the energy equivalent of tens of thousands of suns.
Where it is and when to see it
Chi 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 71° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 81° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 24° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 58° S.
It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 330,000 years ago.
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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 Chi Aurigae
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.71
- Distance
- 326200.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 83.182° · Dec 32.192°
- Catalogue
- HIP 25984 · HD 36371
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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
- Tau Aurigae4.51
- 16 Aurigae4.54
- Lambda Aurigae4.69
- Upsilon Aurigae4.72
- 2 Aurigae4.79