Albali

Its story

Albali, «the swallower» in Arabic, was part of the old asterism of camels drinking from the river of Aquarius. It is a white star 208 light-years away, modest to the naked eye but perfectly recognisable once you know its place in the autumn sky. Its light set out during the Enlightenment, when the first modern star catalogues were beginning to order the firmament one star at a time.