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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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