"in the Universe known. NASA's Pioneer 11 space probe, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970s, is expected to pass near the star Lambda (λ) Aquilae in about 4 million years. In illustrations of Aquila that represent it as an eagle, a nearly straight line of three stars symbolizes part of the wings. The center and brightest of these three stars is Altair. The tips of the wings extend further to the southeast and northwest. The head of the eagle stretches off to the southwest. According to Gavin White, the Babylonian Eagle carried the constellation called the Dead"
"Aquila (constellation) Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it represents the bird that carried Zeus/Jupiter's thunderbolts in Greco-Roman mythology. Its brightest star, Altair, is one vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. The constellation is best seen in the northern summer, as it is located along the Milky Way. Because of this location, many clusters and nebulae are found within its borders, but they are dim and galaxies are few. Aquila was one of the 48 constellations described by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy. It had been earlier mentioned by Eudoxus in the"
"Altair in fiction Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is a luminous white star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) frequently featured in works of science fiction. Classified as an A-type main-sequence star, and located 16.7 light-years from Earth, Altair is one of the few stars for which a resolved image of measurable nonzero extent has been obtained. It rotates so rapidly, with a period of just 9 hours – compared to 25 days for the Sun – that it is significantly oblate, having an equatorial diameter more than 20 percent greater than its polar diameter. Among the authors of the fictional works"
"Altair Altair () (from Arabic """"al-ṭā'ir"""") also designated Alpha Aquilae (α Aquilae, abbreviated Alpha Aql, α Aql), is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. It is currently in the G-cloud—a nearby interstellar cloud, which is an accumulation of gas and dust. Altair is an A-type main sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77 and is one of the vertices of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle (the other two vertices are marked by Deneb and Vega). It is 16.7 light-years (5.13 parsecs) from the Sun and"
"visual companion stars, WDS 19508+0852B, C, and D. Component B is not physically close to A but merely appears close to it in the sky. Altair Altair () (from Arabic """"al-ṭā'ir"""") also designated Alpha Aquilae (α Aquilae, abbreviated Alpha Aql, α Aql), is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. It is currently in the G-cloud—a nearby interstellar cloud, which is an accumulation of gas and dust. Altair is an A-type main sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77 and is one of the vertices of the asterism"
"telescope). It forms a part of two well-known triplet asterisms: With β and γ Aquilae it forms the straight line of stars sometimes referred to as the ""Family of Aquila"" or the ""Shaft of Aquila""; more prominently, it is the southernmost vertex of the Summer Triangle, the other two vertices being the bright stars Deneb and Vega (see ""High Sierra"", below). The name Altair is from the Arabic (النسر الطائر ""an-nasr aṭ-ṭā’ir""), which translates literally as ""the flying eagle"", from its belonging to the constellation. The star is named and plays a part in a variety of ancient myths worldwide,"
"and the people of Pukapuka called Altair ""Turu"" and used it as a navigational star. The Māori people named Altair ""Poutu-te-rangi"", ""Pillar of the Sky"", because of its important position in their cosmology. It was used differently in different Māori calendars, being the star of February and March in one version and March and April in the other. Altair was also the star that ruled the annual sweet potato harvest. Two United States Navy ships, USS"" Aquila"" (AK-47) and USS ""Aquila"" (PHM-4), are named after the constellation. Aquila (constellation) Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is"
"not as a location in space or the center of a hypothetical planetary system: The items in this subsection all refer to works in the film, television, and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry. Altair is referred to as a location in space or the center of a planetary system unusually often in fiction. For a list containing many stars and planetary systems that have a less extensive list of references, see Stars and planetary systems in fiction. Altair in fiction Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is a luminous white star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) frequently featured in works of"
"fourth century BC and Aratus in the third 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 their name for Lyra. It is often held to represent the eagle which held Zeus's/Jupiter's thunderbolts in Greco-Roman mythology. Aquila is also associated with the eagle that kidnapped Ganymede, a son of one of the kings of Troy (associated with Aquarius), to Mount Olympus to serve as cup-bearer to the gods. Ptolemy catalogued"
"Aquilae itself is known as (, .) This star, together with η Aql, θ Aql, ι Aql, κ Aql and λ Aql were consist Antinous, the obsolete constellation. Delta Aquilae Delta Aquilae (δ Aquilae, δ Aql) is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.4 and, based upon parallax measurements, is located about from Earth. Delta Aquilae is an astrometric binary where the two components orbit each other with a period of 3.422 years and an eccentricity of about 0.36. This is a type of binary star system where the"
"Pi Aquilae Pi Aquilae, Latinized from π Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 3° to the north of the bright star Altair. The apparent visual magnitude of the system is 5.85, making it faintly visible to the naked eye from dark suburban skies. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 6.34 mas, the distance to this system is roughly . The binary nature of this system was first discovered by William Herschel in 1785. The primary component of is a magnitude 6.47 giant star with a stellar classification of"
"Delta Aquilae Delta Aquilae (δ Aquilae, δ Aql) is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.4 and, based upon parallax measurements, is located about from Earth. Delta Aquilae is an astrometric binary where the two components orbit each other with a period of 3.422 years and an eccentricity of about 0.36. This is a type of binary star system where the presence of the secondary component is revealed by its gravitational perturbation of the primary. The individual components have not been resolved with a telescope. The primary component, Delta"
"in this article, not excluding Hal Clement (who imagined dramatic equatorial bulges for many of his ""planets""), only Jerry Oltion (1999) has employed or even acknowledged the striking physical peculiarities of this star (see ""Biosphere"", below). There is no evidence that the system is home to any extrasolar planets. Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. With an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77, it is one of the closest stars visible to the unaided eye (most of the nearest stars are red dwarfs too dim to see without a"
"Eta Aquilae Eta Aquilae (η Aql, η Aquilae) is the Bayer designation for a multiple star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, the eagle. It was once part of the former constellation Antinous. On average, this star has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.87, making it one of the brighter members of Aquila. Based upon parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, this star is located at a distance of roughly , although the parallax estimate has a 44% margin of error. The η Aquilae system contains at least two stars, probably three. The primary star η Aql A is"
"γ Aquilae) are separated from respectively their wife and mother Zhinu (represented by Vega) by the Milky Way. They are only permitted to meet once a year, when magpies form a bridge to allow them to cross the Milky Way. The people of Micronesia called Altair ""Mai-lapa"", meaning ""big/old breadfruit"", while the Māori people called this star ""Poutu-te-rangi"", meaning ""pillar of heaven"". In Western astrology, the star Altair was ill-omened, portending danger from reptiles. Japan Airlines's Starjet 777-200 JA8983 was named Altair. Altair Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Philadelphia from 1966 to 1982. The NASA Constellation"
"and Beta Aquilae, are children of Niulang (牛郎, The Cowherd, Altair) and Zhinü (織女, The Princess, Vega). The Koori people of Victoria knew Beta and Gamma Aquilae as the black swan wives of ""Bunjil"" (Altair), the wedge-tailed eagle. \end{align}</math></ref> Gamma Aquilae Gamma Aquilae (γ Aquilae, abbreviated Gamma Aql, γ Aql), also known as Tarazed, is a star in the constellation of Aquila. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 2.712, making it readily visible to the naked eye at night. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of from the Sun. Gamma Aquilae is a relatively young star with an"
"ships after bright stars, the ""Altair"" was named after Altair, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. Conversion began on 28 July 1984 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her cargo hold was redesigned into a series of decks connected by ramps so vehicles can be driven into and out of the cargo hold for fast loading and unloading. She was also fitted with two sets of two cranes; one set located at midship capable of lifting 35 tons, and another set located aft capable of lifting 50 tons. She"
"Aquilae, 15 Aquilae and 14 Aquilae. Consequently, λ Aquilae itself is known as (, .) This star, together with η Aql, θ Aql, δ Aql, ι Aql and κ Aql made up the obsolete constellation Antinous. Lambda Aquilae Lambda Aquilae, Latinized from λ Aquilae, is a star in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional name Al Thalimain, which it shares with ι Aquilae. The name is derived from the Arabic الثالمين ""al-thalīmain"" ""the two ostriches"". Lambda Aquilae is more precisely ""Al Thalimain Prior"". It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.43, which is bright enough to be seen with"
"of Horus, presumably because Aquila rises with Sagittarius. In Chinese astronomy, ζ Aql is located within the Heavenly Market Enclosure (天市垣, ""Tiān Shì Yuán""), and the other stars of the constellation are placed within the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, ""Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ""). Several different Polynesian equivalents to Aquila as a whole are known. On the island of Futuna, it was called ""Kau-amonga"", meaning ""Suspended Burden"". Its name references the Futunan name for Orion's belt and sword, ""Amonga"". In Hawaii, Altair was called ""Humu"", translated to English as ""to sew, to bind together parts of a fishhook."" ""Humu"""
"Lambda Aquilae Lambda Aquilae, Latinized from λ Aquilae, is a star in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional name Al Thalimain, which it shares with ι Aquilae. The name is derived from the Arabic الثالمين ""al-thalīmain"" ""the two ostriches"". Lambda Aquilae is more precisely ""Al Thalimain Prior"". It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.43, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of about from Earth. Lambda Aquilae is a main sequence star with a stellar classification of B9Vn, which means that, like the Sun, it is generating"
"Iota Aquilae Iota Aquilae, Latinized from ι Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It has the traditional name Al Thalimain, which it shares with λ Aquilae. The name is derived from the Arabic term الظليمان ""ath-thalīmain"" meaning ""The Two Ostriches"". With an apparent visual magnitude of 4.364, this star is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of , it is located at a distance of around from Earth. At that distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by 0.15 from extinction"
"times. It is an abbreviation of the Arabic phrase , ""al-nesr al-ṭā’ir"" (""""). In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN, which included ""Altair"" for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. Along with Beta Aquilae and Gamma Aquilae, Altair forms the well-known line of stars sometimes referred to as the ""Family of Aquila"" or ""Shaft of Aquila""."
"""Makalii"". The stars of Auriga feature in Inuit constellations. Quturjuuk, meaning ""collar-bones"", was a constellation that included Capella (Alpha Aurigae), Menkalinan (Beta Aurigae), Pollux (Beta Geminorum), and Castor (Alpha Geminorum). Its rising signalled that the constellation Aagjuuk, made up of Altair (Alpha Aquilae), Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae), and sometimes Alshain (Beta Aquilae), would rise soon. Aagjuuk, which represented the dawn following the winter solstice, was an incredibly important constellation in the Inuit mythos. It was also used for navigation and time-keeping at night. Alpha Aurigae (Capella), the brightest star in Auriga, is a G8III class star (G-type giant) 43 light-years away"
"19 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 12 stars in Aquila and seven in Antinous. Hevelius determined 23 stars in the first and 19 in the second. The Greek Aquila is probably based on the Babylonian constellation of the Eagle, which is located in the same area as the Greek constellation. Aquila, which lies in the Milky Way, contains many rich starfields and has been the location of many novae. Two major"
"Zeta Aquilae Zeta Aquilae (ζ Aquilae, abbreviated Zeta Aql, ζ Aql) is a spectroscopic binary star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is readily visible with the naked eye, being of the third magnitude. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately distant from the Sun. Zeta Aquilae's two components can be designated Zeta Aquilae A (also named Okab) and B. Zeta Aquilae has a number of companions listed and together they are designated WDS J19054+1352. As the primary star of this group, Zeta Aquilae also bears the designation WDS J19054+1352A. The companions are then"
"Theta Aquilae Theta Aquilae (θ Aql, θ Aquilae) is a binary star in the constellation Aquila. The combined apparent visual magnitude of the pair is 3.26, making it the fourth-brightest member of the constellation. In Chinese, it has the traditional name Tseen Foo, which is derived from the Mandarin 天桴 ""tiānfú"" meaning ""the heavenly raft(er)""; it may also mean drumsticks, with Altair, Beta Aquilae and Gamma Aquilae being the drum. This distance to this star can be determined through the parallax technique, yielding an estimate of roughly from Earth. Theta Aquilae is a double-lined spectroscopic binary, which indicates that the"
"Beta Aquilae Beta Aquilae (β Aquilae, abbreviated Beta Aql, β Aql) is a binary star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 44.7 light-years from the Sun. Its two components are designated Beta Aquilae A (also named Alshain) and B. ""β Aquilae"" (Latinised to ""Beta Aquilae"") is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the two components as ""Beta Aquilae A"" and ""B"" derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The system bore"
"known as (, .) This star, together with η Aql, θ Aql, δ Aql, ι Aql and λ Aql were consist Antinous, the obsolete constellation. Kappa Aquilae Kappa Aquilae, Latinized from κ Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is a faint star at apparent visual magnitude +4.957, but bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in dark suburban skies. The annual parallax is only 1.94 mas, which equates to a distance of approximately from Earth (with a 10% margin of error). The spectrum of Kappa Aquilae matches a stellar"
"Sigma Aquilae Sigma Aquilae, Latinized from σ Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. The baseline apparent magnitude of the pair is +5.17, which, according to the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from suburban skies. Because of the Earth's orbit about the Sun, this system has an annual parallax shift of 4.18 mas. This provides a distance estimate of approximately . Sigma Aquilae is a double-lined spectroscopic binary system consisting of two massive B-type main sequence stars; each has a stellar classification of"
"Chi Aquilae Chi Aquilae (χ Aql, χ Aquilae) is the Bayer designation for a binary star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, the eagle. This system is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye at a combined visual magnitude of +5.29. Based upon parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, Chi Aquilae is at a distance of approximately from Earth. The two components of χ Aquilae can be separated in the spectrum and their relative brightness has been measured, but their other properties are uncertain. The cool component is a G2 bright giant or supergiant and is visually"
"Princess and the Cowherd, Beta and Gamma Aquilae are children of Niulang (牛郎, The Cowherd, Altair) and Zhinü (織女, The Princess, Vega). The Koori people of Victoria knew Beta and Gamma Aquilae as the black swan wives of ""Bunjil"" (Altair), the wedge-tailed eagle. Beta Aquilae Beta Aquilae (β Aquilae, abbreviated Beta Aql, β Aql) is a binary star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 44.7 light-years from the Sun. Its two components are designated Beta Aquilae A (also named Alshain) and B. ""β Aquilae"" (Latinised to ""Beta Aquilae"")"
"is one of the closest stars visible to the naked eye. Altair rotates rapidly, with a velocity at the equator of approximately 286 km/s. This is a significant fraction of the star's estimated breakup speed of 400 km/s. A study with the Palomar Testbed Interferometer revealed that Altair is not spherical, but is flattened at the poles due to its high rate of rotation. Other interferometric studies with multiple telescopes, operating in the infrared, have imaged and confirmed this phenomenon. ""α Aquilae"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Aquilae"") is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ""Altair"" has been used since medieval"
"G8 III:. A companion star at an angular separation of 1.437 arcseconds is an A-type main sequence star with a classification of A1 V. It is slightly fainter, with an apparent magnitude of 6.75. Pi Aquilae Pi Aquilae, Latinized from π Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 3° to the north of the bright star Altair. The apparent visual magnitude of the system is 5.85, making it faintly visible to the naked eye from dark suburban skies. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 6.34 mas, the distance to"