Beta Aquilae is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Aquila

Aquila (constellation)

Aquila is a stellar constellation. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it is commonly represented as such. In mythology, Aquila was owned by the Roman god Jupiter and performed many tasks for him....

. It has the traditional name Alshain from the Perso-Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 term الشاهين aš-šāhīn "the (peregrine) falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

", perhaps by folk etymology from the Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 šāhīn tarāzū (or possibly šāhīn tara zed; see γ Aquilae), the Persian name for the asterism

Asterism (astronomy)

In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky. It may form part of an official constellation, or be composed of stars from more than one. Like constellations, asterisms are in most cases composed of stars which, while they are visible in the same general direction,...

 α, β and γ Aquilae.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning River Drum

Ox (Chinese constellation)

The Ox mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.-Asterisms:...

, refers to an asterism consisting of β Aquilae, Altair and γ Aql. Consequently, β Aquilae itself is known as

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Al Achsasi al Mouakket

Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket was an Egyptian astronomer whose calendarium and catalogue of stars, entitled Durret al Muddiah Fih al Aamal al Shamsiah , was written at Cairo about 1650.Al Achsasi was sheikh of the Grand Mosque of the University of Cairo, where his name al...

, this star was designated Unuk al Ghyrab (عنق ألغراب - únuq al-ghuraab), which was translated into Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 as Collum Corvi, meaning the crow's neck.

Beta Aquilae has magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 3.71 and is of spectral class

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 G8IV. It is approximately 44.7 light years

Light Years

Light Years is the seventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 25 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records. The album's style was indicative of her return to "mainstream pop dance tunes"....

 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

Vega

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...

).

The Koori people of Victoria knew Alshain and γ Aquilae as the Black Swan

Black Swan

The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...

 wives of Bunjil (Altair), the Wedge-tailed Eagle

Wedge-tailed Eagle

The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...

.

External links

• ARICNS
• Beta Aquilae by Professor Jim Kaler.
• Image β Aquilae