January 15, 2022

Astronomy flourished during the Golden Age of Islam from the 8th century to the 13th century. As such, many common star names have their origins in Arabic. Although these names have been Latinized, there are still visible traces of the original names. For example, Altair, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila the eagle, is a shortened version of ‘an-Nisr uṭ-Ṭā’ir’, meaning “flying eagle”.

The A-type main sequence star Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquilla the Eagle. It is also one of three stars that make up the asterism called the Summer Triangle. Image created using Stellarium.