Auriga is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name is the Latin word for "charioteer", associating it with various mythological charioteers including Erichthonius and Myrtilus. Auriga is most prominent during winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with the five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Because of its northern declination, Auriga is only entirely visible as far as 34° south. A large constellation, with an area of 657 square degrees, it is half the size of the largest constellation, Hydra. Its brightest star, Capella, is an unusual multiple star system among the brightest stars in the night sky. The resultant of its position near the winter Milky Way, Auriga has many bright open clusters in its borders, including M36, M37, and M38, popular targets for amateur astronomers. In addition, it has one prominent nebula, the Flaming Star Nebula. In Chinese mythology, Auriga's stars were incorporated into several constellations, including the celestial emperors' chariots, made up of the modern constellation's brightest stars.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga_(constellation)> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 986: Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: The Bulgarians defeated the Byzantine forces at the Gate of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Byzantine Emperor Basil II barely escaping. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Gates_of_Trajan> 1807: Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat, the world's first commercially successful paddle steamer, went into service on the Hudson River in New York. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_River_Steamboat> 1945: Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution> 1980: Two-month-old Australian Azaria Chamberlain was taken from her family's campsite at Uluru by a dingo, for which her mother would be convicted of murder. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain> 1999: A 7.5 Mw earthquake struck northwestern Turkey (damage pictured), killing over 17,000 people and leaving approximately half a million people homeless. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_%C4%B0zmit_earthquake> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: remuneration: 1. Something given in exchange for goods or services rendered. 2. A payment for work done; wages, salary, emolument. 3. A recompense for a loss; compensation. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/remuneration> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Life doesn't have a neat beginning and a tidy end, life is always going on. You should begin in the middle and end in the middle, and it should be all there. --V. S. Naipaul <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
