Бүркіт шоқжұлдызы: жұлдыздар мен мифтер әлемі

Constellation near the celestial equator

Aquila, which lies in the Milky Way, contains many rich starfields and has been the location of many novae. It is an A type main sequence star with 1.8 times the mass of the Sun and 11 times its luminosity. The star rotates quickly, and this gives the star an oblate shape where it is flattened towards the poles. β Aql (Alshain) is a yellow hued star of magnitude 3.7, 45 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase shahin i tarazu, meaning "the balance"; this name referred to Altair, Alshain, and Tarazed. The subgiant primary has three times the radius of the Sun and six times the luminosity. γ Aql (Tarazed) is an orange hued giant star of around magnitude 2.7, 460 light years from Earth. Its name, like that of Alshain, comes from the Arabic for "the balance". ζ Aql (Okab) is a binary star of magnitude 3.0, 83 light years from Earth. and the secondary has half the mass of the Sun. There are also two companion stars which orbit the supergiant: a B type main sequence star and an F type main sequence star. ρ Aql moved across the border into neighboring Delphinus in 1992, and is an A type star with a lower metallicity than the Sun. 15 Aql is an optical double star. The primary is an orange hued giant of magnitude 5.41 and a spectral type of K1 III, 325 light years from Earth. The secondary is a purple hued star of magnitude 7.0, 550 light years from Earth. The pair is easily resolved in small amateur telescopes. R Aql is a red hued giant star 690 light years from Earth. It is a Mira variable with a minimum magnitude of 12.0, a maximum magnitude of 6.0, and a period around 9 months. It has a diameter of 400 D☉. A third star is also a member of the system, and there is also a fourth star which is probably unconnected with the main system.

A bright nova was observed in Aquila in 1918 (Nova Aquilae 1918) and briefly shone brighter than Altair, the brightest star in Aquila. It was first seen by Zygmunt Laskowski and was confirmed on the night of 8 June 1918. Nova Aquilae reached a peak apparent magnitude of −0.5 and was the brightest nova recorded since the invention of the telescope.

NASA's Pioneer 11 space probe, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the 1970s, is expected to pass near the star Lambda (λ) Aquilae in about 4 million years.

In illustrations of Aquila that represent it as an eagle, a nearly straight line of three stars symbolizes part of the wings. The center and brightest of these three stars is Altair.

According to Gavin White, the Babylonian Eagle carried the constellation called the Dead Man in its talons. The author also draws a comparison to the classical stories of Antinous and Ganymede. In Hinduism, the constellation Aquila is identified with the half eagle half human deity Garuda. In ancient Egypt, Aquila possibly was seen as the falcon of Horus. According to Berio, the identification of Aquila as an Egyptian constellation, and not merely Graeco Babylonian, is corroborated by the Daressy Zodiac. It depicts an outer ring showing the Sphaera Graeca, the familiar Hellenistic zodiac, while the middle ring depicts the Sphaera Barbarica or foreigner's zodiac with the zodiacal signs of the Egyptian dodekaoros which were also recorded by Teucros of Babylon. Under the sign of Sagittarius is the falcon of Horus, presumably because Aquila rises with Sagittarius.

In Chinese astronomy, ζ Aql is located within the Heavenly Market Enclosure (天市垣, Tiān Shì Yuán), and the other stars of the constellation are placed within the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ). Several different Polynesian equivalents to Aquila as a whole are known. On the island of Futuna, it was called Kau amonga, meaning "Suspended Burden". Its name references the Futunan name for Orion's belt and sword, Amonga. In Hawaii, Altair was called Humu, translated to English as "to sew, to bind together parts of a fishhook." "Humu" also refers to the hole by which parts of a hook are bound together. Humu ma was said to influence the astrologers. Pao toa was the name for the entire constellation in the Marquesas Islands; the name meant "Fatigued Warrior". Also, Polynesian constellations incorporated the stars of modern Aquila. The Pukapuka constellation Tolu, meaning "three", was made up of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Aquilae. Altair was commonly named among Polynesian peoples, as well. The people of Hawaii called it Humu, the people of the Tuamotus called it Tukituki ("Pound with a hammer") they named Beta Aquilae Nga Tangata ("The Men") and the people of Pukapuka called Altair Turu and used it as a navigational star. The Māori people named Altair Poutu te rangi, "Pillar of the Sky", because of its important position in their cosmology. It was used differently in different Māori calendars, being the star of February and March in one version and March and April in the other. Altair was also the star that ruled the annual sweet potato harvest.