Star profile

Tau Aurigae

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Tau Aurigae

Tau Aurigae inhabits the Charioteer, that pentagonal northern winter constellation that seems to cradle a goat and two kids on its arm. It is a yellow G-type star, a spectral cousin of the Sun but lying 207 light-years away, which gives a sense of how much larger and more luminous it is to register from such a distance with its modest gleam. Its warm tone recalls a candle in the night, a friendly bonfire among the cooler and hotter stars surrounding it.

Where it is and when to see it

Tau 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 78° up.
From New York it culminates about 88° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 17° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 51° S.

It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 210 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Tau Aurigae

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 4.51
Distance: 206.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 87.294° · Dec 39.181°
Catalogue: HIP 27483 · HD 38656

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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