Capella, kuh PEHL uh, also known as Alpha Aurigae, ranks as the seventh brightest star in the sky. As seen from Earth, only the sun and five other stars shine more brightly. Capella appears as the brightest star of the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. To the ancient Greeks, the star represented Amalthea, the mythical goat that nursed the god Zeus in his infancy. The name Capella comes from the Latin word for little she-goat. Capella lies about 42 light-years from Earth. One light-year equals the distance light travels in a vacuum in a year, about 9.46 trillion kilometers.