Aquila the Eagle

Continuing our stargazing venture within the Summer Triangle, move south from Vega and Lyra to find the second star in the triangle, Altair, in the constellation of Aquila the great bird or eagle.  Aquila is a summer constellation that lies on the celestial equator and is one of three birds represented in the northern hemisphere. It just so happens that two of those birds are with us in the summer sky. Aquila only vaguely looks like a bird with its out-stretched wings. Some people see Aquila’s out-stretched wings forming a large diamond in the sky flying north along the spine of the Milky Way.   

Its mythology is quite short and not very dramatic. Roman mythology depicts Aquila as an eagle who was tasked with carrying out many difficult tasks for Jupiter. In one such task, Jupiter sent Aquila to Earth to find a new cupbearer to carry nectar for the gods. During its flight over Earth, the eagle looked down and found the handsome Ganymede tending the royal flock for his father, the King of Troy. The eagle swooped down, grabbed him with its talons, and flew him to Mt. Olympus. Ganymede was promoted from royal shepherd to celestial waiter for the gods of Olympus and was treated as their equal. He became a favorite of the gods pleasing all with his manly beauty and tending to all the gods’ needs.

It is surprising that Aquila has no prominent star clusters or nebulae since it is in the Milky Way, but it has some interesting stars. Among them is Eta Aquilae, a relatively bright Cepheid variable star varying in brightness between 3.7 and 4.5 magnitude over a 7.1 day period.

As a reminder, the Summer Triangle resides high in the eastern sky after sunset. There’s plenty of time to see it and as with most objects, it is best seen under dark skies with little or no Moon in the sky.

Enjoy! And Keep Looking Up!