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Aql
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Aquilae
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the Eagle
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20
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+5
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652
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22nd
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3
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Altair (&alpha Aql)
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077
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Epsilon_Aquilids" class="copylinks">Epsilon Aquilids
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Delphinus_(constellation)" class="copylinks">Delphinus
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85
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75
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| |
August
|
(
Latin for ''
Eagle ''; sometimes named the ''Vulture''), is one of the 48
Constellation s listed by
Ptolemy , also mentioned by Eudoxus (4th cent. B.C.) and Aratus (3rd cent. B.C.). and now also part of the list of 88 constellations acknowledged by the
IAU . It lies roughly at the
Celestial Equator . The alpha star,
Altair , is a
Vertex of the
Summer Triangle Asterism .
Ptolemy catalogued nineteen stars jointly in this constellation and in the constellation ''Antinous'', which was named in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), but sometimes, and wrongly, 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.
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
- is one of the brightest Classical Cepheids ; its brightness varies between 3.48 Mag and 4.39 mag every 7.177 days.
- is a Yellow K Star of 5.4 mag accompanied by a 7th mag star; it can easily be observed with small telescopes.
Two interesting
Planetary Nebula e lie in Aquila:
- NGC 6803 shows a small but bright ring
- NGC 6781 which bears some resemblance with the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major .
More deep-sky objects:
Two major
Nova e 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 constellation resembles a wide winged, soaring, short necked, bird, which the ancients identified as an eagle
{Link without Title} . In classical
Greek Mythology , it 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, represented by the neighbouring
Aquarius , to
Mount Olympus where he became the wine-pourer for all the gods. This explains why the largest
Moon of
Jupiter was called
Ganymede , Jupiter being the Roman name of Zeus.
This constellation was also known as ''Vultur volans'' to the
Romans , not to be confused with ''Vultur cadens'' which was the Romans' name for what is now known as
Lyra .
Aquila, together with other constellations in the
Zodiac sign of
Sagittarius (specifically,
Lyra ,
Cygnus ), may be a significant part of the origin of the myth of the
Stymphalian Birds , one of
The Twelve Labours of
Herakles .
In the Chinese love story of
Qi Xi , Niu Lang (
Altair ) and his two children (β and γ Aquilae) are separated forever from their mother Zhi Nu (
Vega ) who is on the far side of the river, the
Milky Way .
Source:
The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.,
The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200
