Psi-1

Its story

Psi-1 Aurigae is a rare orange K-type supergiant in the Charioteer, one of the largest and most luminous embers visible to the naked eye within that winter constellation. Its brightness drifts slowly, betraying the deep labour of a vast atmosphere that has already burned through almost all of its nuclear fuel. Precise measurements of its distance are notoriously hard —so great is its true luminosity—, but catalogues place it among the most far-flung supergiants the human eye can still pick out in the northern night.