The Eagle Constellation By: Sean McCoy

The Story/Myth of the Aquila constellation Aquila was the bird of Zeus, god of thunder and king of all gods. The story starts with Zeus fighting with his father Cronus, so that he could rain supreme over all of the other gods. And during this fight Aquila, the eagle brought food, weapons, and water so that Zeus could have an advantage over Cronus and win the fight. Then after the fight Aquila continued to serve his master faithfully. Then Zeus became so pleased with the bird that he sent him to go and fly amongst the stars.

History of the Aquila The reason for the story of Aquila is that it gives an explanation for why these specific stares are in that specific position in the sky. There is also moral in the story for why the eagle was sent to fly amongst the stars. And it even helped them spread their religion to other countries, they have a story about their god that helps give explanation for why their gods are real. Also they use these stories for entertainment.

Location of Aquila constellation You can see the Aquila constellation best in the summer. It is located on the outer edges of the Milky Way. The stars that make up the constellation range from 16 to 460 light years away from earth. The biggest and brightest star in the group is called Alter, also there are six to seven main stars that are apart of the eagle.

Artistic Rendition

Citations Whitt, Kelly. "Aquila." http://secondary.oslis.org/orig- steps/resources/cm/mlacitationss. suite101.com, 7 Aug. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. Tirion, Wil. "Aquila (constellation)." http://www.scientific- web.com/en/Astronomy/Constellation/AquilaConstellation.html. N.p., 1 Jan. n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. Flaspoehler, Edward P. "The Constellation Aquila - The Eagle." http://www.astromax.org/con-page/summer/aql-01.htm. The American Association of Amateur Astronomers, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.