3 min read<\/p>\n
Summer Triangle Corner: Altair<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/cds\/nightsky\/articles\/Summer%20Triangle%20005.jpeg?w=1259&h=945&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nA map of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle. This asterism is made up of three stars: Vega in the Lyra constellation, Altair in the Aquila constellation, and Deneb in the Cygnus constellation.<\/div>\nStellarium Web<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAltair is the last stop on our trip around the Summer Triangle! The last star in the asterism to rise for Northern Hemisphere observers before summer begins, brilliant Altair is high overhead at sunset at the end of the season in September. Altair might be the most unusual of the three stars of the Triangle, due to its great speed: this star spins so rapidly that it appears \u201csquished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle. A very bright star, Altair holds a notable place in the mythologies of cultures around the world. As discussed in a previous article<\/a>, Altair represents the cowherd in the ancient tale \u201cCowherd and the Weaver Girl.\u201d While described as part of an eagle by ancient peoples around the Mediterranean, it was also seen as part of an eagle by the Koori people in Australia. They saw the star itself as representing a wedge-tailed eagle, and two nearby stars as his wives, a pair of black swans. More recently, one of the first home computers was named after the star: the Altair 8800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![Two side-by-side blue sphere illustrations compare a model and a real image of a fast-spinning star. The left image, labeled \"Model of a fast-spinning star,\" shows an oblate sphere with a bulging, darker equator and brighter poles, spinning at 2.8 revolutions per day. Text below states: \u201cEquator bulges and darkens as star spins faster.\u201d The right image is labeled \u201cActual image of Altair from the CHARA Interferometer,\u201d showing a similar oblate shape with visible surface variations, confirming the modeled appearance. Both images include a rotation arrow and axis line for orientation.](\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/cds\/nightsky\/articles\/Altair%20Chara%20Image.jpg?w=891&h=443&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nA rapidly spinning star darkens and exhibits a bulge at the equator, as shown by the model at left. At right, an actual CHARA interferometer image of the star Altair.<\/div>\nNASA\/NSF\/Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy\/Zina Deretsky<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAltair\u2019s rapid spinning was first detected in the 1960s. The close observations that followed tested the limits of technology available to astronomers, eventually resulting in direct images of the star\u2019s shape and surface by using a technique called\u00a0interferometry<\/em>, which combines the light from two or more instruments to produce a single image. Predictions about how the surface of a rapidly spinning massive star would appear held true to the observations; models predicted a squashed, almost \u201cpumpkin-like\u201d shape instead of a round sphere, along with a dimming effect along the widened equator, and the observations confirmed this<\/a>!<\/p>\nThis equatorial dimming is due to a phenomenon called\u00a0gravity darkening<\/em>. Altair is wider at the equator than it is at the poles due to centrifugal force, resulting in the star\u2019s mass bulging outwards at the equator. This results in the denser poles of the star being hotter and brighter, and the less dense equator being cooler and therefore dimmer. This doesn\u2019t mean that the equator of Altair or other rapidly spinning stars are actually dark, but rather that the equator is dark in comparison to the poles; this is similar in a sense to sunspots. If you were to observe a sunspot on its own, it would appear blindingly bright, but it is cooler than the surrounding plasma in the Sun and so appears dark in contrast.<\/p>\nAs summer winds down, you can still take a Trip Around the Summer Triangle with this activity from the Night Sky Network. Mark some of the sights in and around the Summer Triangle at:\u00a0bit.ly\/TriangleTrip<\/a>.<\/p>\nOriginally posted by Dave Prosper: August 2020
Last Updated by Kat Troche: July 2025<\/em><\/p>\nPowered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\nGet The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Altair is the last stop on our trip around the Summer Triangle! The last star in the asterism to rise for Northern Hemisphere observers before summer begins, brilliant Altair is high overhead at sunset at the end of the season in September. Altair might be the most unusual of the three stars of the Triangle, [\u2026] Continue reading
<\/a><\/figure>Altair is the last stop on our trip around the Summer Triangle! The last star in the asterism to rise for Northern Hemisphere observers before summer begins, brilliant Altair is high overhead at sunset at the end of the season in September. Altair might be the most unusual of the three stars of the Triangle, due to its great speed: this star spins so rapidly that it appears \u201csquished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle. A very bright star, Altair holds a notable place in the mythologies of cultures around the world. As discussed in a previous article<\/a>, Altair represents the cowherd in the ancient tale \u201cCowherd and the Weaver Girl.\u201d While described as part of an eagle by ancient peoples around the Mediterranean, it was also seen as part of an eagle by the Koori people in Australia. They saw the star itself as representing a wedge-tailed eagle, and two nearby stars as his wives, a pair of black swans. More recently, one of the first home computers was named after the star: the Altair 8800.<\/p>\n Altair\u2019s rapid spinning was first detected in the 1960s. The close observations that followed tested the limits of technology available to astronomers, eventually resulting in direct images of the star\u2019s shape and surface by using a technique called\u00a0interferometry<\/em>, which combines the light from two or more instruments to produce a single image. Predictions about how the surface of a rapidly spinning massive star would appear held true to the observations; models predicted a squashed, almost \u201cpumpkin-like\u201d shape instead of a round sphere, along with a dimming effect along the widened equator, and the observations confirmed this<\/a>!<\/p>\n This equatorial dimming is due to a phenomenon called\u00a0gravity darkening<\/em>. Altair is wider at the equator than it is at the poles due to centrifugal force, resulting in the star\u2019s mass bulging outwards at the equator. This results in the denser poles of the star being hotter and brighter, and the less dense equator being cooler and therefore dimmer. This doesn\u2019t mean that the equator of Altair or other rapidly spinning stars are actually dark, but rather that the equator is dark in comparison to the poles; this is similar in a sense to sunspots. If you were to observe a sunspot on its own, it would appear blindingly bright, but it is cooler than the surrounding plasma in the Sun and so appears dark in contrast.<\/p>\n As summer winds down, you can still take a Trip Around the Summer Triangle with this activity from the Night Sky Network. Mark some of the sights in and around the Summer Triangle at:\u00a0bit.ly\/TriangleTrip<\/a>.<\/p>\n Originally posted by Dave Prosper: August 2020 Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Altair is the last stop on our trip around the Summer Triangle! The last star in the asterism to rise for Northern Hemisphere observers before summer begins, brilliant Altair is high overhead at sunset at the end of the season in September. Altair might be the most unusual of the three stars of the Triangle, [\u2026] Continue reading <\/a><\/figure>
Last Updated by Kat Troche: July 2025<\/em><\/p>\n