Sun-like
Solar-type stars, 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-typ ...
star
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
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 first constellati ...
Bayer designation
A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek alphabet, Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive case, genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer design ...
that is Latinized from λ Aurigae, and abbreviated Lambda Aur or λ Aur. This star is visible to the
naked eye
Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...
with an
apparent visual magnitude
Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction of the object's light ca ...
of 4.71. Based upon
parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different sightline, lines of sight and is measured by the angle or half-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to perspective (graphica ...
measurements, it is distant from the Earth. The star is drifting further away with a high
radial velocity
The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity of a target with respect to an observer is the rate of change of the vector displacement between the two points. It is formulated as the vector projection of the target-observer relative velocity ...
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 changes in the apparent places of stars or other celestial objects as they move relative to the center of mass of the Solar System. It is measured relative to the distant stars or a stable referenc ...
, 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 tempe ...
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 gratin ...
of G1 V. It is sometimes listed with a class of G1.5 IV-V Fe-1, which indicates the
spectrum
A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
is showing some features of a more
evolved
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
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 centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
, 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
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the ...
. It has a low level of
magnetic activity
A stellar magnetic field is a magnetic field generated by the motion of conductive Plasma (physics), plasma inside a star. This motion is created through convection, which is a form of energy transport involving the physical movement of material ...
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 ...
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, (), meaning '' Pool of Harmony'', refers to an asterism consisting of λ Aurigae, ρ Aurigae and HD 36041. ''中國星座神話'', written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, . Consequently, the
Chinese name
Chinese may refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China.
**'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethni ...
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, Lambda Aurigae has an
apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the Irradiance, brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction (astronomy), ...
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 Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the lis ...
, 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 gravity, gravitational attraction. It may sometimes be used to refer to a single star. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally calle ...
would have an apparent magnitude of approximately -5.48, about 40 times brighter than
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...
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 ...