Magnitude 5.22 Apparent magnitude (V) 5.22 | Constellation Auriga | |
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People also search for Mu Aurigae, Phi Aurigae, Xi Aurigae | ||
Rho Aurigae (ρ Aur, ρ Aurigae) is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Auriga. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.22. Judging by parallax measurements, this system is approximately 530 light-years (160 parsecs) distant from the Earth, give or take a 30 light-year margin of error.
This is a single-lined spectroscopic binary system wherein the presence of a companion object is revealed by shifts in the stellar spectrum. The pair orbit each other with a period of 34.49 days and an eccentricity of 0.10. The primary component of this system is a B-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of B3 V. The secondary may be a B- or A-type star.
Name
This star, along with λ Aur and μ Aur, were Kazwini's Al Ḣibāʽ (ألحباع), the Tent. According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Al Ḣibāʽ were the title for three stars : λ Aur as Al Ḣibāʽ I, μ Aur as Al Ḣibāʽ II and ρ Aur as Al Ḣibāʽ III.
In Chinese, 咸池 (Xián Chí), meaning Pool of Harmony, refers to an asterism consisting of ρ Aurigae, λ Aurigae and HD 36041. Consequently, ρ Aurigae itself is known as 咸池一 (Xián Chí yī, English: the First Star of Pool of Harmony.)