Altair
The
star Altair (α Aquilae), in the
Aquila constellation, is a
white star of
visual magnitude 0.77 located 17 light years away.
It is the
twelfth brightest star in the skies and one of the closest visible stars. This star is a
vertex of the
Summer Triangle. Altair is most notable for its extremely rapid rotation; by measuring the width of its spectral lines, it was determined that its
equator does a complete rotation in about 6 1/2 hours. In comparison, our star, the
Sun, requires a little more than 25 days for a complete rotation.
Altair, along with β and γ Aquilae, form the well-known line of stars sometimes referred to as the shaft of Aquila.
The name Altair come from the arabic words al-nasr al-tair, which mean the flying eagle.
Mythology
See Chinese Valentines Day.
This star was ill-omened in
astrology, portending danger from
reptiles.
Altair 8800 was one of the first
personal computers, released in
1975.