Altair

Also known as Alpha Aquilae, 53 Aquilae, α Aql, alf Aql, α Aquilae, 53 Aql, LTT 15795, ADS 13009 A

Altair is the brightest star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql or α Aql. Altair is an A-type main-sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77 and is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle asterism; the other two vertices are marked by Deneb and Vega. It is located at a distance of from the Sun. Altair is currently in the G-cloud—a nearby interstellar cloud formed from an accumulation of gas and dust.

AI overview

Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star visible from Earth, easily recognizable as one of the three points of the Summer Triangle asterism in the night sky. It matters to astronomers and stargazers because of its prominence and brightness, and it provides an important reference point for locating other celestial objects and understanding our local region of the galaxy.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Astronomical data · SIMBAD

Object type: dS*
Spectral type: A7Vn
Distance: 17 light-years
Redshift: z = -0.00008872411333848973
Coordinates: RA 297.6958° · Dec 8.8683°

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via SIMBAD · CDS Strasbourg

Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth: 17
Diameter: 2530000
Radius: 1.7
Mass: 1.7
Image: Aquila constellation map.svg

Show 19 more facts

Commons category: Altair
spectral class: A1n
catalog code: UBV M 24205
apparent magnitude: 0.24
absolute magnitude: 2.22
luminosity: 10.7
stellar rotational velocity: 90.8
right ascension: 297.695827296
declination: 8.868321196
effective temperature: 7377
parallax: 0.19
radial velocity: -39.1
metallicity: 0.48
surface gravity: 9000
flattening: 0.2
age estimated by a dating method: 1000000000
color index: 0.08
right ascension component of proper motion: 535
declination component of proper motion: 383

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~9 min read

Article

9 sections

Contents

Nomenclature
Physical characteristics
Rotational effects
Etymology, mythology and culture
Visual companions
See also
Notes
References
External links

Altair rotates rapidly, with a velocity at the equator of approximately 286 km/s. This is a significant fraction of the star's estimated breakup speed of 400 km/s. A study with the Palomar Testbed Interferometer revealed that Altair is not spherical, but is flattened at the poles due to its high rate of rotation. Other interferometric studies with multiple telescopes, operating in the infrared, have imaged and confirmed this phenomenon.