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Capella. By: Tanesha Clark. Latin for "little she-goat". Also called alpha Aurigae . The two stars we see as Capella mark the 6th brightest star in our sky. Astronomers measure the combined magnitude of this system as 0.08
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Capella By: Tanesha Clark
Latin for "little she-goat". • Also called alpha Aurigae. • The two stars we see as Capella mark the 6th brightest star in our sky. • Astronomers measure the combined magnitude of this system as 0.08 http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Capella is the name given to a double star system (both stars are yellow giants). • The two stars appear unresolved even when looking through a telescope (ie, they appear to be only one star). • It is the closest bright star to the north star and therefore is visible at least part of the night every month. http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Type of Star: Yellow Giant (Spectral Class G5 III). Approximately the same color and temperature as the sun but a giant star. • The stars of Capella are in a transitional period from the smaller, hotter stars they once were, to the cooler and larger red giants they must ultimately become in their final phase. • However, for now, their surface temperatures are similar to that of the sun, and so they share its spectral type of G. http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Characteristic • How Far Away: 46 light years • How Big: 16 times the sun's radius • How Bright: 150 times brighter than the sun in visible light http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Where to View: In the constellation of Auriga • When to View: Near celestial pole, visible all year from mid-northern latitudes • Capella is the brightest star in a five-sided star pattern
Capella is the brightest star we see at night of the same spectral type, or color, as our daytime star, the sun. • Capella is a yellow or golden star. It is the brightest yellow star visible in our sky – much bigger and brighter than our sun in absolute terms http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Capella is about 42 light years in contrast to the sun’s 8 light-minutes. • Like so many stars that appear single to the eye, Capella actually consists of two stars. http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
Twin Stars • Capella A and Capella B, as they’re called, are similar to each other, both roughly 10 times the sun’s diameter. • They emit about 80 and 50 times more overall light than the sun, respectively. Another component to this system, a binary of small red stars, orbits about a light-year away. http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer
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