#Aquila takes it name from the Latin word for “ #Eagle”. According to classic Greek mythology, Aquila was the eagle that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus. He was also sent to retrieve the Trojan shepherd boy – Ganymede, whom Zeus desired – to become a wine-pourer for the gods. Aquila’s proximity to Aquarius, which represents Ganymede, is one of the reasons why the constellation is so-named.

Though it one of the 48 constellations included by Ptolemy in the Almagest, the first recorded mention of Aquila that still survives come from Eudoxus of Cnidus – a Greek astronomer and student of Plato’s during the 4th century BCE – and Aratus, the didactic poet who wrote of the constellations in the 3rd century BCE.

Aquila’s alpha star – Altair, which is translated from the Arabic al-nasr al-tair (“flying eagle”) – is located 17 light-years from Earth. This star, a member of the easy-to-spot Summer Triangle, rotates very rapidly (286 km/s), which is what gives Altair it’s shape – i.e. flattened at the poles.