Menkalinan: how to find it and when to see it
Menkalinan ranks 40th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.90, in the constellation Auriga.
You can see it from anywhere north of 45° S, and it's highest in the evening sky in February.
Menkalinan at a glance
Where Menkalinan is in the sky
Menkalinan sits 44.9° north of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the northern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 6 h 0 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Menkalinan
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Menkalinan rises in the north-east, climbs to 85° above the horizon in the north and sets in the north-west.
It's in the evening sky from October to May, and it's highest in the evening around February 4, in winter.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Menkalinan rises in the north-east, climbs to 11° above the horizon in the north and sets in the north-west.
It's in the evening sky in February, and it's highest in the evening around February 4, in summer.
How high Menkalinan climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never sets | 75° in the south | All year |
| 50° N | Never sets | 85° in the south | Sep to Jun |
| 40° N | Rises and sets | 85° in the north | Oct to May |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 75° in the north | Nov to May |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 65° in the north | Nov to Apr |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 45° in the north | Dec to Apr |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 25° in the north | Dec to Mar |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 11° in the north | Feb |
| 45° S | Rises and sets | 0° in the north | None |
What the name Menkalinan means
Menkalinan comes from the Arabic mankib dhī al-ʿinān, the shoulder of the rein-holder, which means the charioteer Auriga.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Menkalinan was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Menkalinan
Menkalinan is in Auriga. It sits 44.9° north of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 6 h 0 min.
Menkalinan is highest in the evening sky around February 4. That's winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere north of 45° S. From 34° S, it climbs to 11° above the horizon in the north.
Menkalinan has a magnitude of 1.90, which ranks it 40th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 22 times brighter.
Menkalinan comes from the Arabic mankib dhī al-ʿinān, the shoulder of the rein-holder, which means the charioteer Auriga.