COSMOS / CONSTELLATIONS / AQL
Aquila (Eagle)
The Eagle. IAU abbreviation Aql. One of the 48 classical constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest in the 2nd century AD.
STAR CHART
KEY FACTS
- IAU abbreviation
- Aql
- Latin name / genitive
- Aquila / Aquilae
- Position
- Right ascension ≈ 19 h 39 m; declination −12° to +17°
- Visibility from Türkiye
- Visible in full from anywhere in Türkiye. When it crosses the meridian its centre stands about 53° above the horizon from Ankara.
- Best time to observe
- Best placed at 21:00 Türkiye time around 12 September.
- Number of stars
- 128 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 in the catalogue; 20 brighter than 5 and 8 brighter than 4.
INTERACTIVE LAB
Where is Aquila tonight?
The lab opens for Ankara on today’s date. Drag the time slider through the night; the “Best night” button jumps to the date when the constellation is highest at 21:00 (around 12 September). Change the city to compare the view from elsewhere in Türkiye and around the world.
MYTH, HISTORY AND OBSERVING
The eagle that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus. Its brightest star, Altair, forms the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb; it lies only 17 light-years away and spins so fast that its equator is visibly flattened. The constellation sits on the rich star clouds of the Milky Way.
BRIGHTEST STARS
| Star | Magnitude | Distance (light-years) | Spectral type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altair | 0.76 | 17 | A7IV-V |
| Tarazed | 2.72 | 395 | K3II |
| Okab | 2.99 | 83 | A0Vn |
| θ Aql | 3.24 | 286 | B9.5III |
| δ Aql | 3.36 | 51 | F0IV |
| λ Aql | 3.43 | 124 | B9Vn |
| Alshain | 3.71 | 45 | G8IVvar |
| η Aql | 3.87 | 1,382 | F6Ibv |
Magnitude: apparent brightness; the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Distances derive from parallax measurements and are uncertain for distant stars. Source: HYG v4.1 star catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0).
SOURCES
Position, visibility and best observing time were computed approximately for this page from the catalogue stars (Ankara, 39.9° N). The 88 constellations were adopted by the IAU in 1922; their boundaries were drawn by Eugène Delporte in 1930.