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Altair
Alp
Variable starIts story
Altair, «the flying eagle» in Arabic, marks the eye of the celestial Eagle and forms the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb. Only 16.7 light years away, it is among the closest white stars to the Sun; it spins so quickly that its equator has been measurably flattened. A faint variability adds a slow pulse to its light, turning it into a restless beacon on warm summer nights.
- Constellation
- Aquila
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.76
- Distance
- 16.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 297.696° · Dec 8.868°
- Catalogue
- HIP 97649 · HD 187642
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