Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the sixth-brightest star in the night sky, and the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus and Vega. A prominent object in the northern winter sky, it is circumpolar to observers north of 44°N. Its name meaning "little goat" in Latin, Capella depicted the goat Amalthea that suckled Zeus in classical mythology. Capella is relatively close, at 42.9 light-years (13.2 pc) from the Sun. It is one of the brightest X-ray sources in the sky, thought to come primarily from the corona of Capella Aa.
Capella is the brightest star in the constellation of Auriga (upper left).
Building J (foreground) at Monte Albán
Annotated night sky image showing Auriga and the Pleiades—Capella is the brightest star, towards top left
Auriga is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Its name is Latin for '(the) charioteer', associating it with various mythological beings, including Erichthonius and Myrtilus. Auriga is most prominent during winter evenings in the northern Hemisphere, as are five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Because of its northern declination, Auriga is only visible in its entirety as far south as -34°; for observers farther south it lies partially or fully below the horizon. A large constellation, with an area of 657 square degrees, it is half the size of the largest, Hydra.
A painting by Peter Paul Rubens entitled Finding of Erichthonius; Erichthonius and Auriga are often associated.
Auriga carrying the goat and kids as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards illustrated by Sidney Hall, London c. 1825.
The constellation Auriga as it can be seen by the naked eye.
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), and its neighbor IC 410, along with AE Aurigae, which illuminates the nebula.