Aquila Constellation: The Ultimate Guide
Aquila (The eagle)
Aquila is one of the largest and most prominent constellations in the Earth's northern hemisphere. The name of the constellation comes from Latin, meaning 'eagle,' and represents the bird that carries the rays of Zeus.
The location of the constellation Aquila is essentially in the northern hemisphere, and we can find it in the night sky throughout the summer in almost the whole world.
The constellation of Aquila is easy to see in the night sky. It has one of the brightest stars in the sky, Altair, the most shining star in the constellation with an apparent magnitude of 2.22.
Aquila's constellation is home to deep-sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.
In addition, within the constellation's boundaries, there are occurrences of a meteor shower.
The Mythology And History Of The Aquila Constellation
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the pattern of stars we call "Aquila" was not associated with an eagle but with "El falcon of Horus,"' the celestial god.
According to the myth, Horus represents the celestial vault; in this way, its eyes are the moon and the sun, while its falcon flies through the skies at night in the form of stars.
Greek Mythology
The ancient Greeks represented this constellation as an eagle; according to the myth, an eagle that was in charge of carrying the thunder of Zeus was sent to Earth to snatch his beautiful and young son Ganymede from his father, King Tros, and take him to Montand Olympus to serve as cupbearer of the gods.
In other versions, Zeus transformed into an eagle to carry out this task and later placed his eagle in the sky as a reward for his labors.
Early Modern Period
During the fifteenth century, the constellation was of great importance for the navigators of the seas. These used to get lost very quickly when they could not locate the stars of the northern hemisphere as they approached the south.
As Aquila is not too far north, it is easily possible to see it from almost anywhere in the south as it has one of the brightest stars in the sky, Altair.
Therefore, it was used as a guide to navigate when the north polar star was no longer visible.
Nowadays
Aquila is part of the most important constellations in the northern hemisphere. However, it is one of the smallest. It has the star Altair, the twelfth brightest star in the sky, and is, therefore, easy to recognize.
In astronomical research, Aquila contains deep-sky objects significant for studying the evolution of stars, such as planetary nebulae and stellar nebulae, where hundreds of stars are born.
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Visibility By Region
The constellation Aquila resides in the third quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ3), at latitudes between 71° S and 90° N, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky in all countries of the world, even a tiny region of Antarctica.
Aquila is visible in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Antarctica.
Visibility By Season
Aquila is visible from late July to early October in both hemispheres, classified as an autumn constellation in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.
The best month to see the constellation of Aquila is in August.
Finding Aquila Constellation
Aquila is located in the northern hemisphere and contains one of the brightest stars in the sky, Altair.
To locate it, we can use it as a reference to the star Vega of the constellation Lyra and draw an imaginary line towards the constellation of Capricorn; in the middle of the road, we will meet the star Altair.
From there, we can visualize the rest of the constellation.
Related Constellations
The bordering constellations of Aquila are: Sagitta, Hercules, Ophiuchus, Serpens Cauda, Scutum, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.
Stars in Aquila Constellation
Aquila contains 124 official stars, of which eight stars have proper names designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU); these are Alshain, Altair, Chechia, Libertas, Okab, Petra, Phoenicia, and Tarazed.
The stars that form the central figure of the constellation are Altair, Tarazed, Deneb el Okab Australis, Tseen Foo, Delta Aquilae, Lambda Aquilae, Alshain, Bezek, Deneb el Okab Borealis and Al Thalimain.
Aquila's brightest star is Altair (α Aquilae, Alpha Aquilae), an A-type main-sequence star, with an apparent magnitude of 2.22 located 16 light-years from Earth, one of the brightest in the sky and also one of the closest to our solar system.
γ Aquilae (Tarazed or Reda)
Located north of Altair, Tazared is the second brightest star in Aquila's constellation at magnitude 2.72.
It is an orange giant star that lies 460 light-years from the solar system.
ζ Aquilae (Okab or Deneb the Okab)
With magnitude 2.99, Okab is the third brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, is a bluish-white star of magnitude 3.0, and is at a distance of 83 light-years from our solar system.
Other Aquila Stars:
- β A quilae (Alshain), yellow subgiant of magnitude 3.71.
- δ Aquilae, white-yellow subgiant of magnitude 3.36.
- ε Aquilae, orange giant.
- η Aquilae, a variable star with a brightness ranging from 3.6 to 4.6
- θ Aquilae, binary star.
- ι Aquilae (Al Thalimain Posterior),blue star of magnitude4.35.
- κ Aquilae, a blue giant of magnitude 4.96.
- λ Aquilae (Al Thalimain Prior), bluish-white star of magnitude 3.42.
- μ Aquilae, an orange giant of magnitude 4.45.
- and Aquilae,a supergiant of magnitude 4.69.
- ξ Aquilae (Libertas), a yellow giant with an extrasolar planet.
- π Aquilae, double star.
- σ Aquilae, eclipsing variable.
- χ Aquilae, binary.
- 10 Aquilae, variable.
- 12 Aquilae (i Aquilae), an orange giant of magnitude 4.03.
- 15 Aquilae, binary.
- 19 Aquilae, it's a yellow genus of magnitude 5.23.
- 31 Aquilae, Is a yellow subgiant of magnitude 5.16.
- R Aquilae, Is a Mira variable whose brightness varies between 5.5 and 12.
- U Aquilae, Is a Cepheid variable whose brightness ranges between 6.08 and 6.86.
- V Aquilae, a semi-irregular variable whose brightness varies between 6.6 and 8.4.
- W Aquilae, Is a Mira variable whose brightness varies between 7.3 and 14.3.
- FF Aquilae, Is a Cepheid variable whose magnitude varies between 5.18 and 5.68.
- OO Aquilae, eclipsing binary of magnitude 9.20.
- V605 Aquilae (Nova Aquilae 1919) is a planetary nebula's central star.
- V805 Aquilae, eclipsing binary of magnitude 7.58.
- V1285 Aquilae (Gliese 735), spectroscopic binary.
- V1291 Aquilae, variable Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum of magnitude 5.63.
- V1302 Aquilae, yellow hypergiant star.
- V1402 Aquilae, hypergiant star.
- V1427 Aquilae, yellow hypergiant star.
- V1654 Aquilae (Gliese 775), an orange dwarf of magnitude7.64.
- Wolf 1055(Gliese 752), binary star19 light-years from Earth.
- 51 Aquilae, Is a white star of magnitude 5.39.
- 70 Aquilae, Is an orange giant.
- 35 Aquilae,star Lambda Bootis.
Deep Sky Objects
Aquila is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects are celestial bodies different from stars, such as nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies) or galaxies.
In the case of Aquila, it is very rich in nebulae; some of them are:
- NGC 6804 A ring-shaped nebula.
- NGC 6781 Planetary nebula is very similar to the owl nebula.
- NGC 6751, Nebula popularly known as the Shining Eye due to its shape resembling a human eye's iris lines.
Other deep-sky objects in Aquila:
- NGC 6709 is an open cumulus with approximately 40 stars, whose magnitudes range from 9 to 11. It is classified as a cluster of Shapley class d and Trumpler class III 2 m.
- NGC 6755 is an open cluster of 12 stars with magnitudes from 12 to 13.
- NGC 6760 globular cluster.
- NGC 6749 open cluster.
- NGC 6778 planetary nebula.
- NGC 6741 planetary nebula.
- NGC 6772, stellar Nebula.
Meteor Showers
In the region comprising the constellation Aquila occurs a meteor shower called "Epsilon Aquilids."
This meteor shower takes place between May 4 and 27, and the observation peak occurs on May 17.
Interesting Facts
- Aquila's brightest star, Altair, forms what is known as "the summer triangle," an asterism of stars formed by the stars Vega of the constellation Lyra, Deneb of the constellation Cygnus, and Altair.
- Although today this constellation is associated with an eagle, it was previously associated with a falcon.
- Aquila contains the largest concentration of galaxies in the Universe, known as the Hercules - Corona Borealis Great Wall.
Conclusions
- Aquila means "Eagle" in Latin. Its name originates in ancient Greece, where Zeus ordered Ganymede to be kidnapped.
- Aquila is a constellation mainly located in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, it can be observed from all countries, including Antarctica, and the best month to see it is August.
- The constellation of Aquila is one of the smallest, but it has one of the brightest stars in the Altair sky.
- The best way to locate the constellation is by finding the star Altair or by drawing a line from the star Vega to the constellation of Capricornus.
- Altair is the most beautiful star with an apparent magnitude of 2.22.
- The most notable star cluster within the borders of Aquila is the open cluster NGC 6709, which contains around 40 stars.
- The strongest meteor shower in Aquila is the Epsilon Aquilids.