38 Aurigae
K-type giant star in the constellation Auriga
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38 Aurigae is a star located 236[1] light years away from the Sun in the northern constellation of Auriga.[8] It is visible to the naked eye as a dim, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.08.[2] The star is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +34 km/s,[2] and it has a relatively high proper motion, traversing the celestial sphere at the rate of 0.181 arc seconds per annum.[9] It is a probable member of the Hercules stream.[7]
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox ICRS | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Auriga |
| Right ascension | 06h 03m 17.94729s[1] |
| Declination | +42° 54′ 41.5433″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.08[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | horizontal branch[3] |
| Spectral type | K0 III[4] |
| B−V color index | 0.979±0.004[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +33.69±0.20[2] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +121.023[1] mas/yr Dec.: −144.427[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 13.8158±0.2136 mas[1] |
| Distance | 236 ± 4 ly (72 ± 1 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 1.572[5] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.59[5] M☉ |
| Radius | 7[6] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 18.47[2] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 2.95[5] cgs |
| Temperature | 4,834[5] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.17[5] dex |
| Age | 3.6±1.0[7] Gyr |
| Other designations | |
| 38 Aur, BD+42°1473, FK5 2461, HD 40801, HIP 28677, HR 2199, SAO 40818[8] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
This object is an aging giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III.[4] At the age of around 3.6[7] billion years it is a red clump giant, which indicates it is on the horizontal branch and is generating energy via helium fusion at its core.[3] The star has 1.59[5] times the mass of the Sun and has expanded to 7[6] times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 18[2] times the Sun's luminosity from its swollen photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,834 K.[5]
38 Aurigae has a faint common proper motion companion at an angular separation of 152″, which is equivalent to a projected separation of 12,160 AU. This is a red dwarf star with a class of M5.3.[10]