AE Aurigae

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Star in the constellation Auriga

title: "AE Aurigae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["o-type-main-sequence-stars", "runaway-stars", "orion-variables", "auriga", "durchmusterung-objects", "henry-draper-catalogue-objects", "hipparcos-objects", "bright-star-catalogue-objects", "objects-with-variable-star-designations"] description: "Star in the constellation Auriga" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AE_Aurigae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Star in the constellation Auriga ::

| name=AE Aurigae | image= |image=Auriga constellation map.svg |float=center |alt= |label= |position=right |width=280 |mark=Red circle.svg |mark_width=10 |mark_link=AE Aurigae |x=610|y=600 |caption=Location of AE Aur (circled) | epoch=J2000 | ra= | dec= | appmag_v=5.96 (5.78 - 6.08) | constell=Auriga | class=O9.5V | r-i = | v-r = | b-v = +0.22 | u-b = −0.70 | variable=Orion variable | radial_v = | prop_mo_ra = | prop_mo_dec = +43.538 | pm_footnote = | parallax = 2.5740 | p_error = 0.0340 | parallax_footnote = | absmag_v = −3.93 | source= | mass= | radius= | luminosity= | temperature= | metal= | gravity= | rotational_velocity= | age_myr= | names= | Simbad=HD+34078

AE Aurigae (abbreviated as AE Aur) is a runaway star in the constellation Auriga; it lights the Flaming Star Nebula.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/AEAurLightCurve.png" caption="[[Hipparcos]] [[light curve]]s for AE Aurigae. The main plot shows the long-term variation, and the inset plot shows the variation folded over a period of 213.7 days. Adapted from Marchenko ''et al.'' (1998)"] ::

AE Aurigae is a blue O-type main sequence star with a mean apparent magnitude of +6.0, making it faintly visible to the naked eye under very good observing conditions. It was discovered to be a variable star by Daniel Walter Morehouse, in 1923, and received its variable star designation in 1924. It is classified as an Orion type variable star and its brightness varies irregularly between magnitudes +5.78 and +6.08. It is approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth.

It is a runaway star that might have been ejected during a collision of two binary star groups. This collision, which also is credited with ejecting Mu Columbae and possibly 53 Arietis, has been traced to the Trapezium cluster in the Orion Nebula two million years ago. The binary Iota Orionis may have been the other half of this collision.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/IC405_Flaming_Star_Nebula_from_the_Mount_Lemmon_SkyCenter_Schulman_Telescope_courtesy_Adam_Block.jpg" caption="Nebula [[IC 405]] around AE Aurigae" alt="Flaming star nebula"] ::

AE Aur is seen to light up the Flaming Star nebula, but it was not formed within it. Instead it is passing through the nebula at high speed and producing a violent bow shock and high energy electromagnetic radiation.

Companions

Two candidate companion stars have been detected at angular distances of 8.4 and 0.35, respectively, but these are thought to be unrelated, optical companions. A new potential companion was discovered using the CHARA array in 2023. In December 2017, it had an angular separation from AE Aurigae of 6.85 mas, and in September 2018 it had an angular separation of 1.74 mas.

References

References

  1. (2023). "Multiplicity of northern bright O-type stars with optical long baseline interferometry". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  2. {{cite DR3. 182071570715713024
  3. (March 1998). "Wolf-Rayet stars and O-star runaways with HIPPARCOS II. Photometry". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  4. (November 1924). "Benennung von neu entdeckten veränderlichen Sternen". Astronomische Nachrichten.
  5. (2023-03-01). "Quantitative spectroscopy of late O-type main-sequence stars with a hybrid non-LTE method". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  6. (2007). "A Cometary Bow Shock and Mid-Infrared Emission Variations Revealed in Spitzer Observations of HD 34078 and IC 405". The Astrophysical Journal.
  7. (2012). "AE Aurigae: First Detection of Non-thermal X-Ray Emission from a Bow Shock Produced by a Runaway Star". The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
  8. (2001). "On the origin of the O and B-type stars with high velocities. II. Runaway stars and pulsars ejected from the nearby young stellar groups". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  9. (2002). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: Catalogue of Stellar Photometry in Johnson's 11-color system". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues.
  10. (2011). "The Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey. I. Classification System and Bright Northern Stars in the Blue-violet at R ~ 2500". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement.
  11. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S.
  12. (2007). "Astrophysical supplements to the ASCC-2.5: Ia. Radial velocities of ˜55000 stars and mean radial velocities of 516 Galactic open clusters and associations". Astronomische Nachrichten.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

o-type-main-sequence-starsrunaway-starsorion-variablesaurigadurchmusterung-objectshenry-draper-catalogue-objectshipparcos-objectsbright-star-catalogue-objectsobjects-with-variable-star-designations