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Auriga
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Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
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Latin:
Charioteer
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Auriga

constellation
Written by
Erik Gregersen
Erik Gregersen is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, specializing in the physical sciences and technology. Before joining Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the...
Erik Gregersen
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Auriga, constellation in the northern sky, at about 6 hours right ascension and 45° north in declination. The brightest star in Auriga is Capella, the sixth brightest star in the sky. The constellation also contains the notable eclipsing binary Epsilon Aurigae. Auriga has been identified with various figures in Greek mythology, such as Erichthonius, a king of Athens who invented the four-horse chariot; Hippolytus, the son of Theseus who was killed in a chariot accident; and Myrtilus, the charioteer of king Oenomaus of Pisa who cursed the family of Pelops before his death.

Erik Gregersen
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