#e nebula

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The E Nebula, Barnard 142 & 143 // John Mirtle

The bright star to the left is Tarazed (γ Aquilae), an orange giant star about 395 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Persian phrase šāhin tarāzu meaning "the beam of the scale."

[quiltofstars]

Altair (α Aquilae, lower right), Tarazed (γ Aquilae, center), and the E Nebula (Barnard 142 & 143, top) // Valerio Pardi

Altair (α Aquilae) is the brightest star in Aquila, the Eagle, and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. Altair is only 17 light years from Earth. It is a solitary blue-white giant star that is almost twice the mass of the Sun. Altair rotates very fast, so fast in fact that it bulges out significantly at its equator. It's equatorial radius is about 50% larger than its polar radius! The name came from the Arabic phrase Al-Nisr Al-Ṭa'ir meaning "the flying eagle."

Tarazed (γ Aquilae) is a solitary orange giant star about 400 light years from Earth. It has already swelled to 3.5 times the mass of the Sun and over 90 times the size! The name comes from the Persian phrase šāhin tarāzu meaning "the beam of the scale."

[quiltofstars]

Barnard 142, the lower part of the E Nebula // Alex Woronow