Rho Aurigae (ρ Aur, ρ 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

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...

system in the

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

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 ...

of Auriga. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.22. Judging by

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, this system is approximately distant from the Earth, give or take a 30-light-year margin of error.

System

ρ Aurigae is a single-lined

spectroscopic binary A binary star is a system of two star, stars that are gravity, gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separa ...

system; the presence of a companion object is revealed by shifts in the

stellar spectrum Astronomical spectroscopy is the study of astronomy using the techniques of spectroscopy to measure the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, ultraviolet, X-ray, infrared and radio waves that radiate from stars and othe ...

. The pair orbit each other with a period of 34.49 days and an

orbital eccentricity In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values betwee ...

of 0.10. The primary component of this system is a B-type main-sequence star defined as a standard star for the

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 B5 V. The deduced mass of the secondary and the lack of evidence for it in the spectrum suggest it may be a B- or A-type star somewhat less luminous than the primary.

Name

In Chinese, (), meaning '' Pool of Harmony'', refers to an asterism consisting of ρ Aurigae,

λ Aurigae Lambda Aurigae, Latinized from λ Aurigae, is the Bayer designation for a solar analog star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.71. Based upon parallax measuremen ...

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 for ρ Aurigae itself is (, en, the First Star of Pool of Harmony).

References

External links

HR 1749
in Bright Star Catalogue
ρ Aurigae
image {{DEFAULTSORT:Rho Aurigae 034759 Spectroscopic binaries 025048 Aurigae, Rho Auriga (constellation) B-type main-sequence stars Aurigae, 20

1749 Events January–March * January 3 ** Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. ** The first issue of ''Berlingske'', Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, ...

Durchmusterung objects

System

Name

References

Further reading

External links