Capella

Capella, brightest star in the constellation Auriga; Bayer designation α Aurigae; 1992 position R.A. 5^h16.1^m, Dec. +45°59'. Capella is a yellow giant star of spectral class G8 III and is also a spectroscopic binary star with a component of spectral class F. Its apparent magnitude of 0.06 makes it the 6th-brightest star in the sky. Capella is about 45 light-years from the earth. Its name is from the Latin for “little she-goat.”

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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