Rho Aurigae should not be confused with R Aurigae.
Rho Aurigae (ρ Aur, ρ Aurigae) is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Auriga. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.22. Judging by parallax measurements, this system is approximately 530abbr=offNaNabbr=off distant from the Earth, give or take a 30-light-year margin of error.
ρ Aurigae is a single-lined spectroscopic binary system; the presence of a companion object is revealed by shifts in the stellar spectrum. The pair orbit each other with a period of 34.49 days and an orbital eccentricity of 0.10.
The primary component of this system is a B-type main-sequence star defined as a standard star for the stellar classification of B5 V. The deduced mass of the secondary and the lack of evidence for it in the spectrum suggest it may be a B- or A-type star somewhat less luminous than the primary.
In Chinese, Chinese: 咸池 (Chinese: Xián Chí), meaning Pool of Harmony, refers to an asterism consisting of ρ Aurigae, λ Aurigae and HD 36041. Consequently, the Chinese name for ρ Aurigae itself is Chinese: 咸池一 (Chinese: Xián Chí yī, English: the First Star of Pool of Harmony).