Constellation of Auriga

The constellation of Auriga, from the Latin Auriga, charioteer, is sometimes called Myrtilus. It represents a man carrying a goat over his shoulders, followed by two or three kids. It is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations which he listed in his great book Almagest. It is located above the constellation of Taurus. Among the stars in it, there are 4 main ones, the brightest of which is Capella. There are two showers of shooting stars in Auriga: the Alpha-Aurigids, active from 25 August to 8 September and the Delta-Aurigids, active from 18 September to 10 October.

In Greek mythology, this constellation represented Erichthonius, an Athenian hero who invented the four-horse chariot.

Look out for: the star Epsilon Aurigae, not far from Capella, around which a disk of dust has been discovered, and three open clusters, M 36, M 37 and M 38.