Constellation, Charioteer
Auriga
The charioteer, oddly drawn holding a goat and her two kids. Its brightest star, Capella, the she-goat, is the goat Amalthea that nursed the infant Zeus.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Auriga rises at 7:40 PM, is highest at 5:07 AM (89° above the horizon in the N) and sets at 2:37 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Auriga. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The Greeks saw a charioteer, though his chariot is not shown. Most often he is Erichthonius, a king of Athens raised by the goddess Athene. He was said to be the first to harness four horses to a chariot, and Zeus placed him in the sky for it. In another Greek story he is Myrtilus, charioteer to King Oenomaus and son of Hermes. Pelops threw him into the sea, and Hermes set him among the stars. No myth explains the goat on his shoulder. Aratus linked it with Amalthea, the she-goat who nursed the infant Zeus.
Some early writers treated the goat and her kids as a separate figure, but since Ptolemy’s time they have been combined with the charioteer. Capella is a Roman name meaning she-goat. Menkalinan comes from an Arabic phrase for the shoulder of the charioteer. One star once marked both the charioteer’s right foot and the tip of the bull’s horn. Since the boundaries of 1930 it belongs only to Taurus, as Elnath.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Auriga
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capella | α Aur | 0.08 | 43 light-years |
| 0.96 | 42 light-years | ||
| Menkalinan | β Aur | 1.90 | 81 light-years |
| Mahasim | θ Aur | 2.65 | 166 light-years |
| Hassaleh | ι Aur | 2.69 | 493 light-years |
| Almaaz | ε Aur | 3.03 | 2,132 light-years |
| Haedus | η Aur | 3.18 | 243 light-years |
| Saclateni | ζ Aur | 3.69 | 786 light-years |
| Bagu | δ Aur | 3.72 | 126 light-years |
| ν Aur | ν Aur | 3.97 | 230 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 658 square degrees (21 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Aur |
| Sky | Northern sky |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 26 |
| Centre (J2000) | 5.7 h, 42° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.