Observing the Constellation Auriga
Stars and Star Clusters of the Charioteer
The winter constellation of Auriga contains the brilliant star Capella and a trio of sparkling star clusters.
The constellation of Auriga the Charioteer lies atop the Milky Way on cold winter nights. Auriga is easy to find due to its one very bright star, Capella, and its proximity to the easily recognizable constellations Orion and Taurus.
Locating Auriga the Charioteer
Auriga is easily found on winter evenings above the head of Orion the Hunter and the horns of Taurus the Bull. In fact, the second brightest star in Taurus, El Nath, lies on the border with Auriga. Auriga can also be described as being off the left hand of the stick figures Castor and Pollux in Gemini.
It is further easy to spot due to its bright star Capella. Capella is the sixth brightest star in the night sky, but during this time of the year, winter's only brighter star in the Northern Hemisphere is Sirius, which is low to the horizon compared to Capella.
The Stars of Auriga
Capella, the brightest star in Auriga, is magnitude 0.08 and lies just 42 light-years away. The other three stars that make up the arrowhead shape of Auriga are also rather bright. Menkalinan, magnitude 1.9, is the closest to Capella, lying seven and a half degrees away. The last two stars are very close in brightness, with Theta Aurigae at magnitude 2.65 and 173 light-years away, and Iota Aurgiae at the tip of the arrowhead shining at magnitude 2.69 but much more distant at 512 light-years.
Star Clusters in the Charioteer
Auriga's placement on the Milky Way gives it a thicker background of stars and three Messier objects. The clusters are in a slightly curving line with the first one appearing right between the stars Theta and Iota Aurigae, and the trail leading toward Gemini.
M38 is the star cluster found between Theta and Iota. The magnitude 6.4 grouping can be spotted through binoculars or small telesclopes. Does it seem to make the shape of the Greek letter Pi to you?
M36 is next in line just over two degrees from M38. At magnitude 6, M36 is the smallest of the three clusters. Not quite four degrees farther away is M37, at magnitude 5.6. In this small space a dense blob of more than 150 stars can be counted with magnitudes of over 12.
