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Menkalinan

Beta Aurigae, 34 Aurigae

White Star in Auriga

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Proper Names	Menkalinan
Bayer Designation	Beta Aurigae
Flamsteed Number	34 Aurigae
HR (BSC)	2088
HD	40183
Constellation	Auriga
Right Ascension	5h 59m 32s
Declination	+44° 56' 51"
Distance	81 light years 25 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +1.9 Absolute: -0.1
Spectral Class	A2V White Main Sequence Star
Optimum Visibility	January
Notes	Menklinan is a triple system, at the heart of which is a binary pair of white stars in a very close mutual orbit just 0.08 AU apart - so close that each of the two stars is physically deformed by the gravitational effects of the other. The third member of the system is a much fainter red dwarf in a wide orbit around the central pair.

After Capella, Menkalinan is the second brightest of Auriga's stars. It is a binary star more than eighty light years from the Solar System.

A pair of dancing stars: at the core of the Menkalinan system are twin white stars circling a common centre of gravity. The event shown here happens once every 47½ hours: from the Earth, one star appears to partially eclipse the other, causing a slight loss in magnitude.

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