Celestial Objects
Capella
Multiple Star Systems
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Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, carrying the Bayer designation Alpha Aurigae, and the sixth-brightest star in the entire night sky, ranking third in the northern celestial hemisphere behind only Arcturus and Vega. Its name means little goat in Latin, recalling the mythological goat Amalthea that suckled Zeus; the system lies a relatively close 42.9 light-years away and is one of the brightest X-ray sources in the sky, radiation thought to come mainly from the corona of its component star Capella Aa.
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