Beta Aquilae
 Location of Beta Aquilae to the upper left of center |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Aquila |
| Right ascension | 19h 55m 18.8s |
| Declination | +06° 24′ 24″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 3.71/11.4 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | G8 IVvar |
| U−B color index | 0.48 |
| B−V color index | 0.86 |
| R−I color index | 0.49 |
| Variable type | Suspected |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | -40.3 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 46.35 mas/yr Dec.: -481.32 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 72.95 ± 0.83 mas |
| Distance | 44.7 ± 0.5 ly (13.7 ± 0.2 pc) |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.26 ± 0.18[1] M☉ |
| Radius | 3.28 ± 0.15[2] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 6.0 ± 0.3[2] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 3.60[2] cgs |
| Temperature | 5,100[2] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | –0.30[2] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 0.9[1] km/s |
| Age | 9.6–11.4[3] Gyr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
| ARICNS | data |
| Data sources: | |
| Hipparcos Catalogue, CCDM (2002), Bright Star Catalogue (5th rev. ed.) |
|
Beta Aquilae (β Aql, β Aquilae) is a star in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional name Alshain from the Perso-Arabic term الشاهين aš-šāhīn "the (peregrine) falcon", perhaps by folk etymology from the Persian šāhīn tarāzū (or possibly šāhīn tara zed; see γ Aquilae), the Persian name for the asterism α, β and γ Aquilae.
In Chinese, 河鼓 (Hé Gŭ), meaning River Drum, refers to an asterism consisting of β Aquilae, Altair and γ Aql.[4] Consequently, β Aquilae itself is known as 河鼓一 (Hé Gŭ yī, English: the First Star of River Drum.)[5]
In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Unuk al Ghyrab (عنق ألغراب - únuq al-ghuraab), which was translated into Latin as Collum Corvi, meaning the crow's neck.[6]
Beta Aquilae has magnitude 3.71 and is of spectral class G8IV. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.[7] It is approximately 44.7 light years from Earth. It has a 12th magnitude optical companion, β Aquilae B, which is 13 arcseconds away in the sky.
Cultural significance
In Chinese mythology, The Princess and the Cowherd, this star and γ Aql, are children of Niulang (牛郎, The Cowherd, Altair) and Zhinü (織女, The Princess, Vega).
The Koori people of Victoria knew Alshain and γ Aquilae as the black swan wives of Bunjil (Altair), the wedge-tailed eagle.[8]
Alshain as the name
USS Alshain (AKA-55) was a United States navy ship.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ (Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
- ↑ (Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 26, 2008.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- ARICNS
- Beta Aquilae by Professor Jim Kaler.
- Image β Aquilae
