The Constellation Aquila
by Dominic Ford
Aquila lies close to the celestial equator and is visible in the months around June.
It is dominated by the bright star Altair, which forms one vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism and is the twelfth brightest star in the sky.
The Milky Way passes through the constellation and so it contains numerous open clusters, though they are not as rich as the vast clouds of stars visible to its north in Cygnus.
Aquila is depicted as an eagle, identified in Greek mythology as the eagle which carried and retrieved thunderbolts for Zeus.
Date First Appeared
Ancient
Ancient
Sky Area
1.6% of the sky
652.5 square degrees
1.6% of the sky
652.5 square degrees
Messier Objects
Aquila contains no Messier objects
Aquila contains no Messier objects
Caldwell Objects
Aquila contains no Caldwell objects
Aquila contains no Caldwell objects
Neighbors
The following constellations neighbor Aquila: Aquarius, Capricornus, Delphinus, Hercules, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Sagittarius, Scutum, Serpens Cauda.
The following constellations neighbor Aquila: Aquarius, Capricornus, Delphinus, Hercules, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Sagittarius, Scutum, Serpens Cauda.
Hover the pointer over the name of an object to highlight its position on the starchart to the right, or click to see more information.
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Altair (mag 0.9) | NGC 6709 (mag 6.7) | NGC 6760 (mag 9.0) | NGC 6814 (mag 11.3) |
| Tarazed (mag 2.7) | NGC 6755 (mag 7.5) | NGC 6749 (mag 12.4) | NGC 6906 (mag 12.6) |
| ζ-Aql (mag 3.0) | NGC 6738 (mag 8.3) | NGC 6821 (mag 13.1) | |
| θ-Aql (mag 3.2) | NGC 6756 (mag 10.6) | NGC 6926 (mag 13.4) | |
| δ-Aql (mag 3.4) | NGC 6724 | NGC 6922 (mag 13.6) | |
| λ-Aql (mag 3.4) | NGC 6735 | NGC 6929 (mag 13.7) | |
| Alshain (mag 3.7) | NGC 6773 | IC 1317 (mag 13.7) | |
| η-Aql (mag 4.0) | NGC 6775 | NGC 6915 (mag 13.8) | |
| i-Aql (mag 4.0) | NGC 6795 | NGC 6941 (mag 14.2) | |
| ε-Aql (mag 4.0) | NGC 6828 | NGC 6900 (mag 14.7) | |
| l-Aql (mag 4.3) | NGC 6837 | NGC 6865 (mag 14.7) | |
| ι-Aql (mag 4.4) | NGC 6840 | NGC 6901 (mag 14.8) | |
| μ-Aql (mag 4.5) | NGC 6843 | IC 1327 (mag 14.9) | |
| ν-Aql (mag 4.7) | NGC 6858 | ||
| Libertas (mag 4.7) | |||
| 70-Aql (mag 4.9) | |||
| 69-Aql (mag 4.9) | |||
| κ-Aql (mag 4.9) | |||
| f-Aql (mag 5.0) | |||
| 4-Aql (mag 5.0) | |||
| e-Aql (mag 5.0) | |||
| Y Aql (mag 5.1) | |||
| V1288 Aql (mag 5.1) | |||
| 37-Aql (mag 5.1) | |||
| O-Aql (mag 5.1) | |||
| 23-Aql (mag 5.2) | |||
| b-Aql (mag 5.2) | |||
| σ-Aql (mag 5.2) | |||
| 19-Aql (mag 5.2) | |||
| TYC1065-3144-2 (mag 5.3) |
