Altair
A fast-spinning star of the Summer Triangle.
Altair is the brightest star in Aquila, an A-type main-sequence star 16.7 light-years away with an apparent magnitude of 0.77. With Deneb and Vega it forms the Summer Triangle.
It spins so fast, about 286 km/s at the equator, that it is flattened at the poles. Its name comes from Arabic for the flying eagle.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Main-sequence star
- Constellation
- Aquila
- Distance
- 16.7 light-years
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.77
More in Stellar Entities & Systems
Elsewhere in Cosmos Codex
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