03Aquila, The Eagle
NAME: Aquila (ACK-will-uh)
SEASON: Summer
CULMINATION: midnight, 12 July
ABBREVIATION: Aql
GENITIVE: Aquilae (ACK-will-eye)
NEIGHBORS: Aqr, Cap, Del, Her, Oph, Sct, Ser, Sge, Sgr
BINOCULAR OBJECTS: NGC 6709
URBAN OBJECTS: NGC 6709
Aquila is a medium-size constellation, ranking 22nd of 88. It covers 652 square degrees of the celestial sphere, or about 1.6%. Aquila is an ancient constellation, old even to the Homeric Greeks. Aquila has been recognized as a constellation at least since the time of the Sumerians, between 3,000 and 5,500 years ago. Aquila has almost universally been recognized as a bird, usually an eagle, across cultures and across time.
To the Greeks, Aquila the Eagle was Zeus’s pet and companion. Zeus was enraged ...
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