Star profile

Upsilon Aurigae

Cool red star

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

What is Upsilon Aurigae

υ Aurigae glows red within the Charioteer, some 523 light-years away. It is an M0-type giant swollen to more than sixty times the Sun's radius; its cool surface, near 3,500 K, still pours out over eight hundred solar luminosities. When the northern winter rises and the Charioteer climbs high, its reddish ember appears among the white stars like a smouldering coal.

Where it is and when to see it

Upsilon 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 76° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 19° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 53° S.

It ranks no. 17 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 520 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Upsilon Aurigae

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 4.72
Distance: 522.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 87.760° · Dec 37.306°
Catalogue: HIP 27639 · HD 38944

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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