Capella
Where is Capella?
Look south, about 85° up at 05:17 in Auriga.
- Rises
- Always up
- Highest
- 05:19
- Sets
- Never
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 85°
Can I see Capella tonight?
From London tonight, Capella is above the horizon all night. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 85°.
At magnitude 0.1 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Capella look like?
Capella looks yellow to the eye. Its spectral type is G3III:: yellow giant (similar in temperature to the Sun).
Eyes
A bright yellow-white star. Near the horizon it twinkles in many colors.
Binoculars
A golden point. Auriga’s rich star fields lie nearby.
Telescope
Still a single point: the two giants are far too close together to split in amateur telescopes. The star clusters M36, M37 and M38 are nearby in Auriga.
About Capella
Capella is the brightest star in Auriga, the Charioteer, and the sixth-brightest in the sky. To the eye it is a single yellowish star, but it is really two yellow giant stars orbiting each other closely, plus a fainter pair of red dwarfs farther away.
The system is about 43 light-years away. The two giants are each roughly two and a half times the mass of the Sun.
Capella is far enough north that from much of Europe and North America it never sets, circling around the North Star. In winter it rides almost overhead.
Capella means “little she-goat” in Latin. The small triangle of fainter stars beside it is known as the Kids.
It is the most northerly of the brightest stars. North of about 44° N latitude it never sets, and on winter evenings it rides almost straight overhead from much of Europe and North America. In summer it skims low over the northern horizon.
Capella in Auriga
Questions
Is Capella one star?
Why does Capella twinkle in colors?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences