Magnitude 4.25 Apparent magnitude (V) 4.25 | Constellation Auriga | |
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Pi Aurigae (π Aur, π Aurigae) is the Bayer designation for a star in the northern constellation of Auriga. Located about one degree north of the 2nd magnitude star Beta Aurigae, Pi Aurigae is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.25 Based upon parallax measurements, it is approximately 800 light-years (250 parsecs) away from Earth. At that distance, the brightness of the star is diminished by 0.54 in magnitude from extinction caused by interstellar gas and dust.
Pi Aurigae is a bright giant star with a stellar classification of M3 II. The measured angular diameter of this star, after correction for limb darkening, is 9.56 ± 0.10 mas. At the estimated distance of Pi Aurigae, this yields a physical size of about 265 times the radius of the Sun. It is classified as an slow irregular variable of type LC and its brightness varies from magnitude +4.24 to +4.34.