Star profile

66 Aurigae

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is 66 Aurigae

66 Aurigae is an orange K-type star about 1208 light-years away, inside the Charioteer s quadrilateral. Its light, set out around the eighth century, crossed space while Charlemagne was being crowned emperor and Carolingian scribes were copying Greek astronomers. It now arrives with that unmistakable warm cast —the colour of a star that has already burned through part of its hydrogen and begun to swell.

Where it is and when to see it

66 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 January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 79° up.
From New York it culminates about 90° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 15° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 49° S.

It ranks no. 35 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 24° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 1,200 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 66 Aurigae

Constellation: Auriga
Apparent magnitude: 5.23
Distance: 1208.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 111.035° · Dec 40.672°
Catalogue: HIP 35907 · HD 57669

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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