Beta Aurigae, officially named Menkalinan, is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Auriga. The combined apparent visual magnitude of the system is 1.9, making it the second-brightest member of the constellation after Capella. Using the parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, the distance to this star system can be estimated as 81.1 light-years, give or take a half-light-year margin of error.
Women computers at the Harvard College Observatory; on the wall is a graph of β Aurigae's varying brightness in December 1889.
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.
