Magnitude 3.715 Apparent magnitude (V) 3.715 | Constellation Auriga | |
 | ||
People also search for Pi Aurigae, Mu Aurigae, Iota Aurigae | ||
Delta Aurigae (δ Aur, δ Aurigae) is the Bayer designation for an astrometric binary star in the constellation Auriga. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.715. Based upon its annual parallax shift of 25.88 mas, it is some 126 light-years (39 parsecs) distant from the Earth, give or take an eight light-year margin of error. This star is the namesake for the Delta Aurigids, a meteor shower that occurs between October 6–15. The radiant point for this shower passes several degrees to the south of the star.
The visible component of this system is a giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III. It has 11 times the radius of the Sun and shines with 62 times the Sun's luminosity. This energy is being radiated from the star's outer envelope at an effective temperature of 4,786 K. This heat gives the star the orange-hued glow of a K-type star.
Name
In Indian astronomy, it is known by the Sanskrit name Prajāpati (प्रजापति), "the Lord of Creation".
In Chinese, 八穀 (Bā Gǔ), meaning Eight Kinds of Crops, refers to an asterism consisting of δ Aurigae, ξ Aurigae, 26 Camelopardalis, 14 Camelopardalis, 7 Camelopardalis, 9 Aurigae, 11 Camelopardalis and 31 Camelopardalis. Consequently, δ Aurigae itself is known as 八穀一 (Bā Gǔ yī, English: the First Star of Eight Kinds of Crops), refers to the rice.