Lambda Aurigae, Latinized from λ Aurigae, is the

Bayer designation A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. ...

for a

solar analog Solar-type star, solar analogs (also analogues), and solar twins are stars that are particularly similar to the Sun. The stellar classification is a hierarchy with solar twin being most like the Sun followed by solar analog and then solar-type ...

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

in the northern

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Auriga AURIGA (''Antenna Ultracriogenica Risonante per l'Indagine Gravitazionale Astronomica'') is an ultracryogenic resonant bar gravitational wave detector in Italy. It is at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nuclea ...

. It is visible to the naked eye with an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 4.71. Based upon

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

measurements, it is approximately distant from the Earth. The star is drifting further away with a high

radial velocity The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...

of +66.5 km/s, having come to within some 117,300 years ago. It has a high

proper motion Proper motion is the astrometric measure of the observed changes in the apparent places of stars or other celestial objects in the sky, as seen from the center of mass of the Solar System, compared to the abstract background of the more dista ...

, traversing the

celestial sphere In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth. All objects in the sky can be conceived as being projected upon the inner surface of the celestial sphere, ...

at the rate of per year.

Properties

This is a

G-type main sequence star A G-type main-sequence star (Spectral type: G-V), also often, and imprecisely called a yellow dwarf, or G star, is a main-sequence star (luminosity class V) of spectral type G. Such a star has about 0.9 to 1.1 solar masses and an effective temper ...

with a

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...

of G1 V. It is sometimes listed with a class of G1.5 IV-V Fe-1, which indicates the

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

is showing some features of a more

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation t ...

subgiant star A subgiant is a star that is brighter than a normal main-sequence star of the same spectral class, but not as bright as giant stars. The term subgiant is applied both to a particular spectral luminosity class and to a stage in the evolution of ...

along with a noticeable underabundance of iron. In terms of composition it is similar to the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, while the mass and radius are slightly larger. It is 73% more luminous than the Sun and radiates this energy from its outer atmosphere at an

effective temperature The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface temperature ...

of . At this heat, the star glows with the yellow hue of a

G-type star A G-type main-sequence star (Spectral type: G-V), also often, and imprecisely called a yellow dwarf, or G star, is a main-sequence star (luminosity class V) of spectral type G. Such a star has about 0.9 to 1.1 solar masses and an effective tempe ...

. It has a low level of surface activity and is a candidate Maunder minimum analog. Lambda Aurigae has been examined for the presence of excess infrared emission that may indicate the presence of a circumstellar disk of dust, but no significant surplus has been observed. It is a possible member of the

Epsilon Indi Moving Group Epsilon Indi, Latinized from ε Indi, is a star system located at a distance of approximately 12 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Indus. The star has an orange hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an a ...

of stars that share a common motion through space. The space velocity components of this star are = .

Name

This star may have been called by the name ''Al Hurr'', meaning ''the fawn'' in Arabic. Lambda Aurigae, along with μ Aur and σ Aur, were Kazwini's ''Al Ḣibāʽ'' (ألحباع), the Tent. According to the catalogue of stars in the ''Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars'', ''Al Ḣibāʽ'' were the title for three stars : λ Aur as ''Al Ḣibāʽ I'', μ Aur as ''Al Ḣibāʽ II'' and σ Aur as ''Al Ḣibāʽ III''. In

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, (), meaning '' Pool of Harmony'', refers to an asterism consisting of λ Aurigae, ρ Aurigae and

HD 36041 HD 36041 is giant star in the northern constellation Auriga. It has an apparent magnitude of 6.37, making it faintly visible to the naked eye. References External links HR 1825CCDM J05307+ 3950Image HD 36041 Auriga (constellation) 0 ...

. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are often a ...

for λ Aurigae itself is (, en, the Third Star of Pool of Harmony.)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 13 日
/ref>

Observation

From

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, Lambda Aurigae has an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's li ...

of 4.71. The closest large neighboring star to Lambda Aurigae is

Capella Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the sixth-brightest star i ...

, located away. Hypothetically viewed from Lambda Aurigae, Capella's quadruple

star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...

would have an apparent magnitude of approximately -5.48, about 40 times brighter than

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

can be seen at maximum brightness from Earth.

References

External links

Image Lambda Aurigae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambda Aurigae G-type main-sequence stars G-type subgiants Aurigae, Lambda Maunder Minimum Auriga (constellation) Aurigae, Lambda BD+39 1248 Aurigae, 15 0197 034411 024813

1729 Events January–March * January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanover ...