Altair

American  

[al-tair, -tahy^uhr, al-tair, -tahyuhr] / ˈæl tɛər, -taɪər, ælˈtɛər, -ˈtaɪər /

noun

1. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Aquila.

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Altair British  

/ ˈæltɛə /

noun

1. the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. Visual magnitude: 0.77; spectral type: A7V; distance: 16.8 light years

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Altair Scientific  

/ ăl-târ′,-tīr′ /

1. A bright white star in the constellation Aquila. Altair is a main-sequence star in the Hertzprung-Russell diagram. It is the 12th brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.77. Altair, along with Vega and Deneb, form the Summer Triangle asterism. Scientific name: Alpha Aquilae.

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Etymology

Origin of Altair

< Arabic ( al-nasr ) al-ṭā'ir (the) flying (eagle)

Example Sentences

Its corners are marked by Vega in the constellation of Lyra, the Harp, Altair in Aquila, the Eagle and Deneb in Cygnus, the Swan.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

One of the easiest seasonal landmarks to find is the Summer Triangle, a large pattern formed by the bright stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb.

From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026

The shift toward the personal began with the Altair 8800, a mail-order kit that lacked a screen or keyboard but proved a market existed for home hobbyists.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

The multimillion-dollar four-bedroom home being searched is in Altair, an exclusive gated community adjacent to the Great Park and across the street from Portola High School.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

That was when the magazine Popular Electronics ran a cover story on an extraordinary machine called the Altair 8800.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell