SkyEye: Aquila

The Eagle

Abbreviation:	Aql
Genitive:	Aquilae
Origin:	[antiquity]
Fully Visible:	71°S – 78°N

Classical Greek mythology holds that this is the eagle that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus, king of the gods. When Zeus desired the shepherd Ganymede, he sent his eagle to carry the boy up to Mount Olympus. This constellation was frequently paired in old star atlases with the now-extinct constellation Antinous, with the Roman youth shown clutched in the eagle's claws.

The first magnitude star Altair forms an asterism, the 'Summer Triangle', with two other first magnitude stars, Deneb and Vega.

The constellation of Aquila

Notable Features

Visible Named Stars
α Aql	Altair	This first magnitude star forms one part of the asterism known as the 'Summer Triangle'. In Hindu astronomy, α Aql, β Aql and γ Aql together are known as Sravana, from the Sanskrit śravaṇa meaning 'the ear'.
β Aql	Alshain	This star appears as Unuk al Ghyrab (from the Arabic ʿunuq al‑ghurāb meaning 'the neck of the raven') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium.
γ Aql	Tarazed	This star appears as Menkib al Nesr (from the Arabic al‑mankib al‑nasr meaning 'the shoulder of the vulture') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium. It also appears as Reda in Antonín Bečvář's Atlas of the Heavens — Ⅱ Catalogue 1950.0. The derivation of this name is unknown but may be a corruption of 'Tarazed'.
ζ Aql	Okab	This star appears as Dzaneb al Tair (from the Arabic dhanab uṭ‑ṭāʾir meaning 'the tail of the eagle') in Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket's calendarium. In Chinese astronomy, this star is known as Wuyue, from Wú Yuè which was an ancient Chinese state.
ξ Aql	Libertas	This fifth-magnitude G-type giant star is known to have at least one exoplanet.
HD 192699	Chechia	This sixth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. It is found some distance north of the star θ Aql.
Other Interesting Stars
V1703 Aql	Phoenicia	This eighth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet and is located next to θ Aql.
WASP‑80	Petra	This twelfth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. It is found just south of Phoenicia and θ Aql.
Deep Sky Objects
SS 443		This mysterious object is visible only through large instruments. An eclipsing binary system where the primary is a black hole and the secondary is an A-type star, this microquasar is spewing forth jets of gas at sizeable fractions of the speed of light.