Auriga

Auriga [Lat.,=the charioteer or wagoner], northern constellation traditionally represented as a man, possibly Vulcan, carrying a goat on his shoulder while driving a chariot. It lies E of Perseus and N of Gemini and Taurus. Auriga contains Capella , a bright, yellow giant star, and Epsilon Aurigae, an eclipsing binary in which a small star orbits a cool supergiant star. The constellation reaches its highest point in the evening sky in early February.

Auriga (abbr. Aur, gen. Aurigae) A constellation of the northern sky, representing a charioteer. Its brightest star is Capella (Alpha Aurigae). Auriga contains three 6th-magnitude open clusters, M36, M37, and M38. Epsilon Aurigae is a long-period eclipsing binary. Zeta Aurigae is another eclipsing binary, varying between magnitudes 3.7 and 4.0 with a period of 972 days; it is the prototype of the Zeta Aurigae stars.

Epsilon Aurigae An eclipsing binary with a very long orbital period (9892 days) and many unusual characteristics. A highly luminous F0 supergiant (absolute magnitude -8) is eclipsed for approximately 610 days by a larger, unseen object, the nature of which remains uncertain. It may be a disk, ring, or shell surrounding the true secondary, which could be an early B‐type giant or supergiant. Certain features might be accounted for by a warped disk around a pair of white dwarf stars, but other theories include the possibility of a precessing disk around the hot B star. During eclipses, the apparent magnitude falls from 3.0 to 3.8. Epsilon Aurigae is about 2000 l.y. away. The last eclipse was in 1983/4, and the next is due to begin in 2009.