14 Aurigae

Lore & Background

The primary member, designated component A, is a single-lined spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit with a period of 3.7887 days. Its visible member has a stellar classification of either A9 IV or A V, depending on the source. In 1966, Ivan John Danziger and Robert John Dickens discovered that 14 Aurigae is a variable star; it is a Delta Scuti variable with an amplitude of 0.08 magnitude and a period of 2.11 hours. The primary is 609 million years old and has 1.64 times the mass of the Sun.

Component B lies to the north of the primary and is merely a visual companion. Component C, an F-type main sequence star of magnitude 7.86, shares a common proper motion with component A and thus forms a system. This member is also a single-lined spectroscopic binary, with a period of 2.9934 days. The final member, designated component Cb, is a white dwarf star separated from the Ca pair. While it is statistically unlikely that a chance alignment between Cb and the rest of the system would occur, it has not been proven whether Cb is a physical companion of Ca. If Cb is indeed bound to Ca, the system would be quintuple, with an orbital period around 1,300 years.

Reader's Guide

14 Aurigae is notable as a multiple-star system that includes a Delta Scuti variable, a class of pulsating stars important for asteroseismology. The primary's variability, discovered in 1966, adds to the understanding of stellar oscillations in intermediate-mass stars. The system's hierarchical structure—with a spectroscopic binary primary, a visual companion, and a second spectroscopic binary that may itself have a white dwarf companion—makes it a valuable case study in stellar multiplicity and orbital dynamics. The unresolved status of component Cb as a possible physical companion highlights the challenges in confirming wide binary systems. The system's heliocentric radial velocity of −9 km/s indicates it is moving closer to the Sun.

Did You Know?

• 14 Aurigae is also designated KW Aurigae as a variable star.
• The primary is a Delta Scuti variable with a period of 2.11 hours.
• Component Cb is a white dwarf that may or may not be physically bound to the system.

Mythological Identities

The constellation Auriga carries more mythological baggage than most, with at least four competing claims to its identity. The most prominent figure is Erichthonius, the chthonic son of Hephaestus raised by Athena, credited with inventing the four-horse chariot and using it to defeat the usurper Amphictyon and claim the Athenian throne. Zeus placed him among the stars in honor of his ingenuity. Alternatively, Auriga is identified as Myrtilus, son of Hermes and charioteer for Oenomaus, who was killed by Pelops after helping him win Hippodamia's hand; Hermes then set him in the sky. A third reading sees Hippolytus, Theseus's son, whose chariot was wrecked after his rejection of Phaedra. In late antiquity, Claudian and Nonnus identified the figure as Phaethon, Helios's son who lost control of the sun chariot and was struck down by Zeus. Each myth centers on chariots, suggesting the Greeks created the constellation to honor the vehicle's cultural importance.

Astronomical Treasures

Auriga's position near the winter Milky Way makes it a rich hunting ground for deep-sky objects. Its brightest star, Capella, is an unusual multiple system ranking among the brightest in the night sky. Epsilon Aurigae draws particular attention as a nearby eclipsing binary with an unusually long period, studied intensively by astronomers. Beta Aurigae adds further interest as a variable star. Beyond individual stars, the constellation borders three bright open clusters—M36, M37, and M38—that are popular targets for amateur astronomers with modest telescopes. The Flaming Star Nebula, associated with the variable star AE Aurigae, stands as the constellation's one prominent nebula. Auriga also serves as the radiant point for four meteor showers: the Aurigids, Zeta Aurigids, Delta Aurigids, and the hypothesized Iota Aurigids, giving it a recurring seasonal role in the meteor calendar.

Cross-Cultural Heritage

The stars we now call Auriga have been reinterpreted across civilizations and millennia. The earliest record comes from Mesopotamia, where MUL.APIN listed a constellation called GAM, representing a scimitar or crook associated with a goat-herd or shepherd; this figure included most of the modern constellation's bright stars but excluded Elnath. Bedouin astronomers later organized the same stars into a herd of goats, an association that carried into Greek tradition before the charioteer identity took hold. In Chinese mythology, Auriga's stars were folded into several native constellations, including the celestial emperors' chariots, which drew upon the constellation's brightest stars. Ptolemy included Auriga among his 48 constellations in the 2nd century, and it has remained one of the 88 modern constellations ever since. Its northern declination means it is visible in full only as far south as −34 degrees latitude.

The Goat and the Charioteer

Capella's mythological roots intertwine with the constellation's broader narrative. The star is associated with Amalthea, the she-goat who nursed the infant Zeus, and it forms an asterism with Epsilon Aurigae and two stars known as the Haedi, or Kids, a name first applied by the ancient Greek astronomer Cleostratus. Before Ptolemy merged the Charioteer and the Goats in his 2nd-century Almagest, the goat-and-kids group existed as a separate constellation, and authors like Pliny the Elder and Manilius even treated Capella as its own constellation under names like Capra, Caper, or Hircus. Traditional illustrations show the charioteer holding a goat over his left shoulder with two kids tucked under his left arm, while his right hand grips the reins—though some artists have drawn that hand holding a whip instead. The goat's hideous, Gorgon-like appearance featured in a myth where Zeus skinned it to create his aegis, partially responsible for the Titans' defeat.