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Bright stars · Auriga
Capella
Alpha Aurigae
Details
Magnitude
0.08
Spectral type
G8III
Bayer
Alpha Aurigae
Distance
42.9 ly
A brilliant yellow star at the top of a winter constellation — actually a system of four stars.
BeginnerWhat is it?
Capella looks like a single yellow-white star but is really a complex system: two pairs of stars orbiting each other, about 43 light-years away.
What will I see?
Naked eye
The brightest star in Auriga, a distinct pentagon of stars overhead in northern-hemisphere winter.
Reference imagery from long-exposure photography usually shows far more colour and structure than the human eye can see through a telescope.
Interesting facts
- About 43 light-years away.
- Consists of at least four stars in two close binary pairs.