Charioteer or Shepherd?

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Auriga is my favorite constellation. This week you can see it at the top of the sky at 8:30PM. It isn't difficult to pick out the 5-star pentagon and the small triangle formed with the brightest star and two lesser stars.

Auriga would not be my favorite if it represented a charioteer, as the Romans said. But Auriga is not a charioteer; he is a shepherd. The brightest star is Capella, meaning she-goat, and three tiny stars below her are known as The Kids. A chariot has never been part of the image, and one wonders why a charioteer would be carrying a goat and three kids.

Auriga shares a star with Taurus. Beta Tauri and gamma Aurigae mark the point at which Taurus's horn pierces Auriga's foot. This has nothing to do with a charioteer, but everything to do with the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:15).