Star profile
Mahasim
Theta Aurigae · Auriga
Variable starWhat is Mahasim
Mahasim, white and slightly variable, shines at 165 light-years from the Earth in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. Its Arabic name refers to the wrist of the driver firmly holding the reins, one of those words that survived the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest in twelfth-century Toledo, when the Castilian kings still funded the translators of every available manuscript. Its light fluctuates very faintly, almost like a distant heartbeat, in slow cycles that barely alter what the human eye can perceive from any ordinary courtyard floor.
Where it is and when to see it
Mahasim 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. 4 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 170 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Mahasim
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.65
- Distance
- 165.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 89.930° · Dec 37.213°
- Catalogue
- HIP 28380 · HD 40312
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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
- HassalehIota Aurigae2.69
- AlmaazEpsilon Aurigae3.03
- HaedusEta Aurigae3.18
- SaclateniZeta Aurigae3.69
- Delta Aurigae3.72