Auriga (constellation)
Constellation | |
Abbreviation | Aur[1] |
---|---|
Genitive | Aurigae |
Pronunciation |
|
Symbolism | the Capella (α Aur) (0.08m) |
Messier objects | 3[5] |
Meteor showers | |
Bordering constellations | |
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −40°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of late February to early March. |
Auriga is a constellation in the
Its brightest star,
In Chinese mythology, Auriga's stars were incorporated into several constellations, including the celestial emperors' chariots, made up of the modern constellation's brightest stars. Auriga is home to the radiant for the Aurigids, Zeta Aurigids, Delta Aurigids, and the hypothesized Iota Aurigids.
History and mythology
The first record of Auriga's stars was in Mesopotamia as a constellation called GAM, representing a scimitar or crook. However, this may have represented just Capella (Alpha Aurigae) or the modern constellation as a whole; this figure was alternatively called Gamlum or MUL.GAM in the MUL.APIN. The crook of Auriga stood for a goat-herd or shepherd. It was formed from most of the stars of the modern constellation; all of the bright stars were included except for Elnath, traditionally assigned to both Taurus and Auriga. Later, Bedouin astronomers created constellations that were groups of animals, where each star represented one animal. The stars of Auriga comprised a herd of goats, an association also present in Greek mythology.[8] The association with goats carried into the Greek astronomical tradition, though it later became associated with a charioteer along with the shepherd.[9]
In Greek mythology, Auriga is often identified as the mythological Greek hero Erichthonius of Athens, the chthonic son of Hephaestus who was raised by the goddess Athena. Erichthonius was generally credited to be the inventor of the quadriga, the four-horse chariot, which he used in the battle against the usurper Amphictyon, the event that made Erichthonius the king of Athens.[10][11] His chariot was created in the image of the Sun's chariot, the reason Zeus placed him in the heavens.[12] The Athenian hero then dedicated himself to Athena and, soon after, Zeus raised him into the night sky in honor of his ingenuity and heroic deeds.[13]
Auriga, however, is sometimes described as
Auriga is also said to represent Phaethon, son of the sun Helios, who tricked his father into letting him drive his chariot for a day. Phaethon crashed and burned, scorching the earth. He was then placed in the night sky as the Auriga.[15] Regardless of Auriga's specific representation, it is likely that the constellation was created by the ancient Greeks to commemorate the importance of the chariot in their society.[16]
An incidental appearance of Auriga in Greek mythology is as the limbs of Medea's brother. In the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, as they journeyed home, Medea killed her brother and dismembered him, flinging the parts of his body into the sea, represented by the Milky Way. Each individual star represents a different limb.[17]
Traditionally, illustrations of Auriga represent it as a chariot and its driver. The charioteer holds a goat over his left shoulder and has two
Occasionally, Auriga is seen not as the Charioteer but as
Since the time of Ptolemy, Auriga has remained a constellation and is officially recognized by the
In non-Western astronomy
The stars of Auriga were incorporated into several Chinese constellations. Wuche, the five chariots of the celestial emperors and the representation of the grain harvest, was a constellation formed by Alpha Aurigae, Beta Aurigae, Beta Tauri, Theta Aurigae, and Iota Aurigae. Sanzhu or Zhu was one of three constellations which represented poles for horses to be tethered. They were formed by the triplets of Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta Aurigae; Nu, Tau, and Upsilon Aurigae; and Chi and 26 Aurigae, with one other undetermined star. Xianchi, the pond where the sun set and Tianhuang, a pond, bridge, or pier, were other constellations in Auriga, though the stars that composed them are undetermined. Zuoqi, representing chairs for the emperor and other officials, was made up of nine stars in the east of the constellation. Bagu, a constellation mostly formed from stars in Camelopardalis representing different types of crops, included the northern stars of Delta and Xi Aurigae.[12]
In ancient
In Brazil, the
The people of the
The stars of Auriga feature in
Features
Stars
Bright stars
Other bright stars
Besides particularly bright stars of Alpha and Beta Aurigae, Auriga has many dimmer naked-eye visible stars.
Gamma Aurigae, now known under its once co-name
Delta Aurigae, the northernmost bright star in Auriga,[54] is a K0III-type star (K-type giant),[45][54][55] 126 light-years from Earth[55] and approximately 1.3 billion years old.[54] It has a magnitude of 3.72, an absolute magnitude of 0.2, and a luminosity of 60 L☉.[45] About 12 times the radius of the Sun, Delta weighs only two solar masses and rotates with a period of almost one year.[54] Though it is often listed as a single star,[56] it actually has three very widely spaced optical companions. One is a double star of magnitude 11, two arcminutes apart; the other is a star of magnitude 10, three arcminutes apart.[54]
Nu Aurigae is a G9.5III (G-type giant)[62] star of magnitude 3.97,[45] 230 light-years from Earth.[62] It has a luminosity of 60 L☉ and an absolute magnitude of 0.2.[45] Nu is a giant star with a radius of 20–21 solar radii and a mass of approximately 3 solar masses. It may technically be a binary star; its companion, sometimes listed as optical and separated by 56 arcseconds, is a dwarf star of spectral type K6 and magnitude 11.4. Its period is more than 120,000 years and it orbits at least 3,700 AU from the primary.[54]
Star | Spectral class |
Apparent magnitude[45] |
Absolute magnitude[45] |
Distance (light-years) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kappa Aurigae | G8.5IIIb[63] | 4.25 | 0.3 | 177[63] |
Pi Aurigae | M3II[64] | 4.26 | −2.4 | 758[64] |
Tau Aurigae | G8III[65] | 4.52 | 0.3 | 206[65] |
Upsilon Aurigae | M0III[66] | 4.74 | −0.5 | 526[66] |
Chi Aurigae | B4Ib[67] | 4.76 | −6.3 | 3032[45] |
2 Aurigae | K3III[68] | 4.78 | −0.2 | 604[68] |
Mu Aurigae | A4m[69] | 4.86 | 1.8 | 153[69] |
Sigma Aurigae | K4III[70] | 4.89 | −0.3 | 466[70] |
Omega Aurigae | A1V[71] | 4.94 | 0.6 | 171[71] |
Xi Aurigae | A2V[72] | 4.99 | 0.8 | 233[72] |
9 Aurigae | F0V[73] | 5.00 | 2.6 | 86[73] |
Eclipsing binary stars
The most prominent variable star in Auriga is
Another eclipsing binary in Auriga, part of the Haedi asterism with Eta Aurigae, is
Other variable stars
There are many other variable stars of different types in Auriga.
There are four Mira variable stars in Auriga: R Aurigae, UV Aurigae, U Aurigae, and X Aurigae, all of which are type M stars.[45] More specifically, R Aurigae is of type M7III,[85] UV Aurigae is of type C6 (a carbon star),[86] U Aurigae is of type M9,[87] and X Aurigae is of type K2.[88] R Aurigae, with a period of 457.5 days, ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.9 to a maximum of 6.7. UV Aurigae, with a period of 394.4 days, ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 10.6 to a maximum of 7.4. U Aurigae, with a period of 408.1 days, ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.5 to a maximum of 7.5. X Aurigae, with a particularly short period of 163.8 days, ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.6 to a maximum of 8.0.[45]
Binary and double stars
Auriga is home to several less prominent binary and double stars.
Stars with planetary systems
There are several stars with confirmed planetary systems in Auriga; there is also a white dwarf with a suspected planetary system.
The star
Deep-sky objects
Auriga has the
M36 (NGC 1960) is a young galactic open cluster with approximately 60 stars, most of which are relatively bright; however, only about 40 stars are visible in most amateur instruments.
M37 (NGC 2099) is an open cluster, larger than M36 and at a distance of 4,200 light-years. It has 150 stars, making it the richest cluster in Auriga; the most prominent member is an orange star that appears at the center.
M38 is a diffuse open cluster at a distance of 3,900 light-years, the least concentrated of the three main open clusters in Auriga;
IC 410, a faint nebula, is accompanied by the bright open cluster NGC 1893. The cluster is thin, with a diameter of 12 arcminutes and a population of approximately 20 stars. Its accompanying nebula has very low surface brightness, partially because of its diameter of 40 arcminutes. It appears in an amateur telescope with brighter areas in the north and south; the brighter southern patch shows a pattern of darker and lighter spots in a large instrument.[109] NGC 1893, of magnitude 7.5, is classified as a Trumpler Class II 3 r n or II 2 m n cluster, meaning that it is not very large and is somewhat bright. The cluster possesses approximately 30 stars of magnitude 9–12. In an amateur instrument, IC 410 is only visible with an Oxygen-III filter.[90] NGC 2281 is a small open cluster at a distance of 1,500 light-years. It contains 30 stars in a crescent shape.[18] It has an overall magnitude of 5.4 and a fairly large diameter of 14.0 arcseconds, classified as a Trumpler Class I 3 m cluster. The brightest star in the cluster is magnitude 8; there are approximately 12 stars of magnitude 9–10 and 20 stars of magnitude 11–13.[90]
NGC 1931 is a nebula in Auriga, slightly more than one degree to the west of M36. It is considered to be a difficult target for an amateur telescope. NGC 1931 has an approximate integrated magnitude of 10.1;[90] it is 3 by 3 arcminutes. However, it appears to be elongated in an amateur telescope.[109] Some observers may note a green hue in the nebula; a large telescope will easily show the nebula's "peanut" shape, as well as the quartet of stars that are engulfed by the nebula.[84] The open cluster portion of NGC 1931 is classed as a I 3 p n cluster; the nebula portion is classed as both an emission and reflection nebula.[90] NGC 1931 is approximately 6,000 light-years from Earth and could easily be confused with a comet in the eyepiece of a telescope.[110]
NGC 1664 is a fairly large open cluster, with a diameter of 18 arcminutes, and moderately bright, with a magnitude of 7.6, comparable to several other open clusters in Auriga. One open cluster with a similar magnitude is NGC 1778, with a magnitude of 7.7. This small cluster has a diameter of 7 arcminutes and contains 25 stars. NGC 1857, a small cluster, is slightly brighter at magnitude 7.0. It has a diameter of 6 arcminutes and contains 40 stars, making it far more concentrated than the similar-sized NGC 1778. Far dimmer than the other open clusters is NGC 2126 at magnitude 10.2. Despite its dimness, NGC 2126 is as concentrated as NGC 1857, having 40 stars in a diameter of 6 arcminutes.[45]
Meteor showers
Auriga is home to two meteor showers. The Aurigids, named for the entire constellation and formerly called the "Alpha Aurigids", are renowned for their intermittent outbursts, such as those in 1935, 1986, 1994, and 2007.[111] They are associated with the comet Kiess (C/1911 N1), discovered in 1911 by Carl Clarence Kiess. The association was discovered after the outburst in 1935 by Cuno Hoffmeister and Arthur Teichgraeber.[112] The Aurigid outburst on September 1, 1935, prompted the investigation of a connection with Comet Kiess, though the 24-year delay between the comet's return caused doubt in the scientific community. However, the outburst in 1986 erased much of this doubt. Istvan Teplickzky, a Hungarian amateur meteor observer, observed many bright meteors radiating from Auriga in a fashion very similar to the confirmed 1935 outburst. Because the position of Teplickzky's observed radiant and the 1935 radiant were close to the position of Comet Kiess, the comet was confirmed as the source of the Aurigid meteor stream.[111]
The Aurigids had a spectacular outburst in 1994, when many
The Aurigids are normally a placid Class II meteor shower that peaks in the early morning hours of September 1, beginning on August 28 every year. Though the maximum zenithal hourly rate is 2–5 meteors per hour, the Aurigids are fast, with an entry velocity of 67 kilometres (42 mi)/sec. The annual Aurigids have a radiant located about two degrees north of Theta Aurigae, a third-magnitude star in the center of the constellation.[115] The Aurigids end on September 4.[116] Some years, the maximum rate has reached 9–30 meteors per hour.[113]
The other meteor showers radiating from Auriga are far less prominent and capricious than the Alpha Aurigids. The Zeta Aurigids are a weak shower with a northern and southern branch lasting from December 11 to January 21. The shower peaks on January 1 and has very slow meteors, with a maximum rate of 1–5 meteors per hour. It was discovered by William Denning in 1886 and was discovered to be the source of rare fireballs by Alexander Stewart Herschel.[117] There is another faint stream of meteors called the "Aurigids", unrelated to the September shower. This shower lasts from January 31 to February 23, peaking from February 5 through February 10; its slow meteors peak at a rate of approximately 2 per hour.[118] The Delta Aurigids are a faint shower radiating from Auriga. It was discovered by a group of researchers at New Mexico State University and has a very low peak rate. The Delta Aurigids last from September 22 through October 23, peaking between October 6 and October 15.[119] They may be related to the September Epsilon Perseids, though they are more similar to the Coma Berenicids in that the Delta Aurigids last longer and have a dearth of bright meteors.[120] They too have a hypothesized connection to an unknown short period retrograde comet.[121] The Iota Aurigids are a hypothesized shower occurring in mid-November; its parent body may be the asteroid 2000 NL10, but this connection is highly disputed. The hypothesized Iota Aurigids may instead be a faint stream of Taurids.[122]
See also
- Auriga (Chinese astronomy)
- Psi Aurigae
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Pasachoff 2006.
- ^ a b c IAU, The Constellations, Auriga.
- ^ Ridpath, Constellations.
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- ^ Bakich 1995, p. 26.
- ^ RECONS, The 100 Nearest Star Systems.
- ^ Rogers, Mesopotamian Traditions 1998.
- ^ Rogers, Mediterranean Traditions 1998.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Moore & Tirion 1997, p. 130–131.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ridpath & Tirion 2009, p. 67.
- ^ a b c d e Ridpath, Star Tales Auriga.
- ^ Krupp 2007.
- ^ Staal 1988, p. 79.
- ^ Falkner 2011, p. 41.
- ^ a b Winterburn 2009, p. 131.
- ^ Staal 1988, p. 109.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Ridpath & Tirion 2001, pp. 86–88.
- ^ a b Allen 1899, pp. 83–91.
- ^ a b Olcott 2004, pp. 65–69.
- ^ Staal 1988, p. 29.
- ^ OED 2012, agitator, n..
- ^ Ridpath, Star Tales Telescopium Herschelii.
- ^ Bakich 1995, p. 11.
- ^ Pasachoff 2006, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Russell 1922, pp. 469–471.
- ^ Staal 1988, p. 70.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, p. 225.
- ^ Aveni 1977, p. 193.
- ^ Buckstaff 1927, p. 280.
- ^ a b Staal 1988, pp. 221–222.
- ^ Goodenough 1953, p. 43.
- ^ Goodenough 1953, pp. 26, 43.
- ^ Makemson 1941, p. 268.
- ^ Makemson 1941, p. 202.
- ^ Makemson 1941, p. 252.
- ^ Makemson 1941, p. 210.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, p. 65.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, pp. 44–51.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, p. 66.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Alpha Aurigae.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Burnham 1978, pp. 261–296.
- ^ a b Davis 1944.
- ^ Goodenough 1953, pp. 13–14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Moore 2000, pp. 338–340, Table 14.12.
- ^ Torres, Claret & Young 2009, p. 1365.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Beta Aurigae.
- ^ Moore 2000, p. 279.
- ^ SIMBAD Beta Tauri.
- .
- ^ a b SIMBAD Iota Aurigae.
- ^ a b c d Kaler 2009.
- ^ Kashyap et al. 1994.
- ^ a b c d e f Kaler 2008.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Delta Aurigae.
- ^ Moore 2000, pp. 338–340.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Lambda Aurigae.
- ^ Hopkins & Stencel 2007.
- ^ Hopkins & Stencel 2006.
- ^ Lucas, Hopkins & Stencel 2006.
- ^ Kaler 2011.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Nu Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Kappa Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Pi Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Tau Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Upsilon Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD Chi Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD 2 Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Mu Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Sigma Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Omega Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Xi Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD 9 Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD Epsilon Aurigae.
- ^ a b c SIMBAD Zeta Aurigae.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Eta Aurigae.
- Bibcode:1892AstAp..11..593C.
- Bibcode:1892AstAp..11..571H.
- ^ a b SIMBAD Psi1 Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD RT Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD RX Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD RW Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD AE Aurigae.
- ^ a b Harrington 1992.
- ^ SIMBAD R Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD UV Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD U Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD X Aurigae.
- ^ SIMBAD Theta Aurigae.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Thompson & Thompson 2007, pp. 94–101.
- ^ Fekel & Tomkin 2007, pp. 59–60.
- ^ SIMBAD HR 1528.
- ^ doi:10.1086/367889.
- ^ Exoplanet Encyclopedia HD 40979 b.
- doi:10.1086/503746.
- doi:10.1086/520880.
- ^ Exoplanet Encyclopedia HD 45350 b.
- S2CID 18805775.
- S2CID 212414679.
- S2CID 119243619.
- ^ Exoplanet Encyclopedia HD 43691 b.
- .
- ^ Exoplanet Encyclopedia HD 49674 b.
- S2CID 17608922.
- ^ S2CID 930937.
- ^ Exoplanet Encyclopedia HAT-P-9 b.
- ^ S2CID 119249005.
- ^ Crossen & Rhemann 2004, p. 177.
- ^ a b Higgins 1992.
- ^ Levy 2005, pp. 97–99.
- ^ a b c Jenniskens 2006, pp. 175–178.
- ^ a b Jenniskens 2006, p. 82.
- ^ a b Levy 2008, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Jenniskens & Kemp 2007.
- ^ Lunsford, Activity.
- ^ Lunsford, Showers.
- ^ Levy 2008, pp. 103–104.
- ^ Levy 2008, p. 106.
- ^ Levy 2008, p. 119.
- ^ Dubietis & Arlt 2002.
- ^ Drummond 1982.
- ^ Meng 2002.
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- "Upsilon Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Pi Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Kappa Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Omega Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "2 Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "9 Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Mu Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Sigma Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Xi Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Epsilon Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- "Zeta Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- "Eta Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- "Psi1 Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Chi Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "RT Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "RX Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "RW Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "AE Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "R Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "UV Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "U Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "X Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- "Theta Aurigae". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "HR 1528". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
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