Look Up At The Stars

Welcome to the second edition of 'Look Up At The Stars', throughout these blogs we'll be taking a closer look at constellation and the stories behind them. Why? Well, if you remember from last edition, we had two reasons for that. For one, they are just the most fascinating thing. Two, if you ever find yourself in the Night Court, knowing the stars might come in handy. And three, if you're on a date, you can impress the other person with your knowledge of the galaxy. Because everyone loves a charmer that knows their stars.

Up first for this week is...
 

The Aquila Constellation

 

The Aquila Constellation has 9 visible stars in the sky, and can be seen in the northern sky. The name 'Aquila' means The Eagle in Latin, and represents the God Jupiter from Roman Mythology. Aquila has 3 stars that are brighter than the usual brightness, and one of those stars is the 'Altair', which is the 12th brightest star in the sky. Only eight of the stars in the Aquila Constellation are named: Alshain, Altair, Chechia, Libertas, Okab, Petra, Phoenicia, and Tarazed. Aquila also belongs to the Hercules family of constellations.

The Myths of Aquila There are many myths about Aquila, but in each of them, Aquila is said to be an Eagle. In Greek mythology, Aquila is known as the eagle that carried Zeus’ thunderbolts and was once sent by the god to carry Ganymede, a young Trojan boy Zeus wanted to bring to Olympus to be the cup bearer of the gods. In another myth, the eagle Aquila is found guarding the arrow of Eros (represented by the constellation Sagitta), which hit Zeus and made him love-struck. In yet another myth, Aquila represents Aphrodite disguised as an eagle, pretending to pursue Zeus in the form of a swan, so that Zeus’ love interest, the goddess Nemesis, would give him shelter. In the story, Zeus later placed the images of the eagle and the swan among the stars to commemorate the event.