Aquila (constellation)
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Aquila

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List of stars in Aquila
Abbreviation:	Aql
Genitive:	Aquilae
Symbolism:	the Eagle
Right ascension:	20 h
Declination:	+5°
Area:	652 sq. deg. (22nd)
Main stars:	8
Bayer/Flamsteed stars:	65
Stars with known planets:	4
Bright stars:	3
Nearby stars:	3
Brightest star:	Altair (α Aql) (0.77m)
Nearest star:	Altair (α Aql) (16.72 ly)
Messier objects:	0
Meteor showers:	June Aquilids Epsilon Aquilids
Bordering constellations:	Sagitta Hercules Ophiuchus Serpens Cauda Scutum Sagittarius Capricornus Aquarius Delphinus
Visible at latitudes between +85° and −75° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of August

Aquila (pronounced /ˈækwɨlə/ or /əˈkwɪlə/) is a constellation. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it is commonly represented as such. It lies roughly at the celestial equator. The alpha star, Altair, is a vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism.

History

Aquila was one of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy in Ancient Greece. It is also mentioned by Eudoxus in the 4th century BC and Aratus in the 3rd century BC. It is now one of the 88 constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union.

The constellation was also known as Vultur volans (the flying vulture) to the Romans, not to be confused with Vultur cadens which was the Romans' name for what is now known as Lyra.

Ptolemy catalogued nineteen stars jointly in this constellation and in the now obsolete constellation of Antinous, which was named in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138), but sometimes erroneously attributed to Tycho Brahe, who catalogued twelve stars in Aquila and seven in Antinous. Hevelius determined twenty-three stars in the first, and nineteen in the second.^{citation needed}

Named Stars

Notable features

Stars

Aquila, which lies in the Milky Way, contains many rich starfields.

• α Aql (Altair): this multiple star system (3 components) has 0.77m and is of spectral type A7 V. It has a parallax of 0.23", and consequently is about eight times as bright as the Sun.
• β Aql (Alshain): its spectral type is G8 IV and it shines with an apparent brightness of 3.71m. Like Altair, it too is a multiple star system with three components.
• γ Aql (Tarazed): spectral type K3 II; 2.72m
• η Aql: This short-period variable star is one of the brightest classical Cepheids; its brightness varies between 3.48 mag and 4.39 mag every 7.177 days.
• 15 Aql: This double star is a yellow K star of 5.4 mag accompanied by a 7th mag star; it can easily be observed with small telescopes.
• ρ Aql moved across the border into neighboring Delphinus in 1992

Novae

Two major novae have been observed in Aquila; the first one was in 389 BC and was recorded to be as bright as Venus, the other (Nova Aquilae 1918) briefly shone brighter than Altair, the brightest star in Aquila.

Deep-sky objects

Three interesting planetary nebulae lie in Aquila:

• NGC 6804 shows a small but bright ring
• NGC 6781 which bears some resemblance with the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major.
• NGC 6751: also known as the Glowing Eye, a planetary nebula

More deep-sky objects:

• NGC 6709: an open cluster of 6.7m located five degrees southwest of Zeta Aquilae
• NGC 6755: an open cluster of 7.5m; it is made up of about a dozen stars with magnitudes 12 thru 13
• NGC 6760: a globular cluster of 9.1m
• NGC 6749: an open cluster
• NGC 6778: planetary nebula
• NGC 6741: planetary nebula
• NGC 6772: planetary nebula

Other

NASA's Pioneer 11 mission, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970s will pass near one of the stars in the constellation of Aquila in about four million years.

Mythology

The constellation resembles a wide winged, soaring, short necked, bird, which the ancients identified as an eagle.[1].

In classical Greek mythology, Aquila was identified as the eagle which carried the thunderbolts of Zeus and was sent by him to carry the shepherd boy Ganymede who he desired, to Mount Olympus; the constellation of Aquarius is sometimes identified with Ganymede.

Aquila, together with other constellations in the Zodiac sign of Sagittarius (specifically, Lyra and Cygnus), may be a significant part of the origin of the myth of the Stymphalian birds, one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles. The constellation could also have originated from the eagle Ethon, the tormentor of Prometheus, and offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna.^{original research?}

In the Chinese love story of Qi Xi, Niu Lang (Altair) and his two children (β and γ Aquilae) are separated forever from their wife and mother Zhi Nu (Vega) who is on the far side of the river, the Milky Way.

In Hinduism, the constellation Aquila is identified with the half eagle, half human deity, Garuda.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2007). Stars and Planets Guide, Collins, London. ISBN 978-0007251209. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0691135564.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Aquila

• NightSkyInfo.com: Constellation Aquila
• Star Tales – Aquila
• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aquila
• WIKISKY.ORG: Aquila constellation