Aquila

Constellation on the celestial equator (see celestial sphere). Its brightest star is first-magnitude Altair, flanked by the stars Beta and Gamma Aquilae. It is represented by an eagle.

Nova Aquilae, which appeared June 1918, shone for a few days nearly as brightly as Sirius.

In Greek mythology this was Jupiter's eagle and, according to some, the bird that tormented Prometheus. The Roman emperor Hadrian ordered that its southern stars should be formed into a separate constellation named in honour of Antinous, a young man who had sacrificed his life for the emperor. Ptolemy noted it as such and the German astronomer Johann Bayer showed it with Aquila but called it Ganymedes.