Capella

This month look for the star Capella, the lucida of Auriga the Charioteer. The star is located high in the northwest on March evenings which makes it the brightest star overhead. The name Capella comes from the Latin for little she-goat. This name comes from the fact that Auriga is depicted holding young goats. The goats are represented by the three stars forming a narrow triangle located very close to and just south of the star Capella. Capella is the eleventh brightest star in all of the heavens and the third brightest in the northern hemisphere. If you were born in 1971 then Capella is your birthday star this year because the light of Capella you see tonight left the star 42 years ago.

Capella is a binary star with a primary yellow star 82 times brighter than our sun and a companion star 12 times larger than our sun. Capella’s slightly smaller companion star orbits approximately 65 million miles away from the primary. The pair, Capella Aa and Capella Ab, is orbited by a pair of red dwarf stars in a very distant orbit. The two bright stars in Capella are nearing the end of their lives. They are finishing the last of their fusible supply of hydrogen and will soon expand into red giant stars.