The constellation of Aquila, the Eagle // E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani
Click below for some information about Aquila's mythology and the named stars here! There's also an annotated image!
Aquila, which is Latin for "eagle", is one of the original 48 constellations laid down by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Most Mediterranean civilizations saw this constellation as an eagle. The Babylonians saw it as an eagle carrying a dead man in its talons. The Greeks identified it as the eagle that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus. In ancient Egypt, Aquila was the falcon of Horus.
Fun bonus fact: NASA's Pioneer 11 probe, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970s, will pass near the star λ Aquilae in about 4 million years. Set your watches!
The named stars, in order of brightness, are:
Altair (α Aquilae), the brightest star in Aquila and the 12th brightest in the night sky. It is a blue-white giant star about 16.7 light years away. Altair is rotating very fast, so fast that it is no longer a sphere, but is instead flattened at the poles and stretched at the equator significantly. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase Al-Nasr Al-Ṭā'ir meaning "the flying eagle."
Tarazed (γ Aquilae) is an orange supergiant star about 395 light years away. Its name comes from the Persian phrase šāhin tarāzu meaning "the beam of the scale," referring to an outdated constellation of the scale formed from α, β, and γ Aquilae.
Okab (ζ Aquilae) is a binary star system about 83 light years away. The primary star is a blue-white giant and the secondary is a red dwarf. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase Dhanab al-ʽuqāb meaning "the tail of the eagle."
Antinous (θ Aquilae) is a binary star system about 286 light years away. Both stars in the system are blue giant stars. The name refers to an obsolete constellation created by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 132 AD. Antinous was a beautiful young boy loved by Hadrian who died tragically. You can see Antinous being held by Aquila in the illustration above!
Alshain (β Aquilae) is a triple star system about 44 light years away. Two of the components are an orange giant and a red dwarf. The name comes from the Persian term aš-šāhīn meaning "the falcon."
Libertas (ξ Aquilae) is a solitary orange giant star about 186 light years away. It has a single confirmed planet orbiting it, about 3 times the mass of Jupiter, named Fortitudo. Both names were given by students at Hosei University in Tokyo: Libertas is Latin for "liberty" and Fortitudo is Latin for "fortitude."
Tianfu (τ Aquilae) is a solitary orange giant star about 535 light years away. Its name comes from Chinese astronomy, Tianfu (天桴) being an ancient Chinese constellation.
Chechia (HD 192699) is a solitary Sun-like star about 238 light years away. It has a single exoplanet orbiting it, about twice the mass of Jupiter, named Khomsa. Both names came from the people of Tunisia: Chechia is a traditional red wool hat, while Khomsa is a palm-shaped amulet.
Phoenicia (HD 192263) is a solitary orange dwarf star about 64 light years away. It has a single confirmed exoplanet orbiting it, slightly less massive than Jupiter, named Beirut. Both names were given by the people of Lebanon: Phoenicia is the name of an ancient civilization in modern-day Lebanon, and Beirut is the capital of Lebanon.
Petra (WASP-80) is a solitary red dwarf star about 162 light years away. It has a single confirmed exoplanet orbiting it, about half the mass of Jupiter, named Wadirum. Both names were given by the people of Jordan: Petra is a historical archaeological site in Jordan, while Wadirum is named after a valley in southern Jordan.