Aquila (constellation)

Constellation|name = Aquila |abbreviation = Aql |genitive = Aquilae |symbology = the Eagle |RA = 20 |dec= +5 |areatotal = 652 |arearank = 22nd |numberstars = 3 |starname = Altair (α Aql) |starmagnitude = 0.77 |meteorshowers =
*June Aquilids
*Epsilon Aquilids |bordering =
*Sagitta
*Hercules
*Ophiuchus
*Serpens Cauda
*Scutum
*Sagittarius
*Capricornus
*Aquarius
*Delphinus |latmax = 85 |latmin = 75 |month = August |notes=}}Aquila (Latin for Eagle; sometimes named the Vulture), is one of the 48 constellations 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.

Notable features

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.

Notable deep-sky objects

Two interesting planetary nebulae 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:
*NGC 6709: an open cluster of 6.7m
*NGC 6755: an open cluster of 7.5m
*NGC 6760: a globular cluster of 9.1m

History

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.

Mythology

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

Notable and named stars

BD	F	Names and other designations	Mag.	Ly away	Comments
α	53	Altair, Alpha Aquilae, Atair	0.76	16.72 * < النسر الطائر an-nasr aţ-ţā'ir The flying eagle
γ	50	Gamma Aquilae, Tarazed, Tarazad, Reda	2.72	461 * < Persian شاهين ترازو šāhin tarāzu The beam of the scale, originally applied to the asterism α-β-γ Aquilae.
ζ	17	Zeta Aquilae, Deneb el Okab, Woo, Yuë	2.99	83.2 * < ذنب العقاب ðanab al-cuqāb Tail of the Falcon * < 吳 (Mandarin wú) an old state near Jiangsu province * < 粵 (Mandarin yuè) an old state in Guangdong province
θ	65	Theta Aquilae, Tseen Foo	3.24	287 * < 天桴 (Mandarin tiānfú) The heavenly raft(er) or drumsticks
δ	30	Delta Aquilae	3.36	50.1
β	60	Beta Aquilae, Alshain, Alschain, Alschairn	3.71	44.7 * < الشاهين aš-šāhīn The peregrine falcon
η	55	Eta Aquilae	3.87	1180
ε	13	Epsilon Aquilae, Deneb el Okab, Woo, Yuë	4.02	154 * < ذنب العقاب ðanab al-cuqāb Tail of the Falcon * < 吳 (Mandarin wú) an old state near Jiangsu province * < 粵 (Mandarin yuè) an old state in Guangdong province
i	12	12 Aquilae	4.02
l	71	71 Aquilae	4.31
λ	16	Lambda Aquilae, Al Thalimain	4.34	125 * < ? aθ-θalīmain The (two) ostriches
ι	41	Iota Aquilae, Al Thalimain	4.36	307 * < ? aθ-θalīmain The (two) ostriches
μ	38	Mu Aquilae	4.45	111
ν	32	Nu Aquilae	4.64	>3000
ξ	59	Xi Aquilae	4.71	203
	69	69 Aquilae	4.91
	70	70 Aquilae	4.91
κ	39	Kappa Aquilae	4.93	1460
ρ	67	Rho Aquilae, Tso Ke	4.94	154 * < 左旗 (Mandarin zu�'qí) The left flag
f	26	26 Aquilae	4.98
	4	4 Aquilae	5.02
e	36	36 Aquilae	5.03
	18	18 Aquilae	5.07
	23	23 Aquilae	5.10
ο	54	Omicron Aquilae	5.12	63.2
	37	37 Aquilae	5.12
	21	21 Aquilae	5.14
b	31	31 Aquilae	5.17
σ	44	Sigma Aquilae	5.18	680 * eclipsing binary
	19	19 Aquilae	5.23
	11	11 Aquilae	5.27
χ	47	Chi Aquilae	5.28	750 * binary star; component magnitudes 5.6, 6.8
φ	61	Phi Aquilae	5.28	206 * spectroscopic binary
ω¹	25	Omega-1 Aquilae	5.28	422
	57	57 Aquilae	5.28	* double star; component magnitudes 5.70, 6.49
	20	20 Aquilae	5.35
	51	51 Aquilae	5.38
g	14	14 Aquilae	5.40
h	15	15 Aquilae	5.40
	66	66 Aquilae	5.44
	42	42 Aquilae	5.45
d	27	27 Aquilae	5.46
τ	63	Tau Aquilae	5.51	527
A	28	28 Aquilae	5.53
	22	22 Aquilae	5.59
	58	58 Aquilae	5.60
	45	42 Aquilae	5.64
	62	62 Aquilae	5.67
π	52	Pi Aquilae	5.75	570 * binary star; component magnitudes 6.1, 6.9.
	56	56 Aquilae	5.76
c	35	35 Aquilae	5.79
υ	49	Upsilon Aquilae	5.89	176
	5	5 Aquilae	5.89
	10	10 Aquilae	5.91
	64	64 Aquilae	5.97
ω²	25	Omega-2 Aquilae	6.03	279
	8	8 Aquilae	6.08
	68	68 Aquilae	6.12
ψ	48	Psi Aquilae	6.25	810
	46	42 Aquilae	6.33
	24	24 Aquilae	6.40
		HD 192263	8.1	64.9 * has a planet

Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed., The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200

See also

References

*

External links

* The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aquila
* NightSkyInfo.com: Constellation Aquila