Star profile
HYG 118360
Binary systemWhat is HYG 118360
On the flank of Auriga burns a pair of golden fire. Two G-type suns dance too close for the eye to split them apart —barely 42 light-years away—. The light reaching the atmosphere tonight set out when the first transistors were rewriting electronics, in the heart of the postwar years. A stellar intimacy disguised as a single point, forever caught in the Charioteer.
Where it is and when to see it
HYG 118360 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 85° up.
- From New York it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 44° S.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 76 stars of Auriga in our catalogue. To find it, start from Capella, the brightest: it lies about 1° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 42 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HYG 118360
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.96
- Distance
- 42.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 79.169° · Dec 46.001°
- Catalogue
- HYG 118360
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Auriga
Auriga has 76 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CapellaAlpha Aurigae0.08
- MenkalinanBeta Aurigae1.90
- MahasimTheta Aurigae2.65
- HassalehIota Aurigae2.69
- AlmaazEpsilon Aurigae3.03
- HaedusEta Aurigae3.18
- SaclateniZeta Aurigae3.69
- Delta Aurigae3.72