Gamma Aquilae, Latinized from γ Aquilae, and formally known as Tarazed , is a star in the constellation of Aquila. It has an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 2.712, making it readily visible to the naked eye at night. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

Properties

Gamma Aquilae is a relatively young star with an age of about 270 million years. Nevertheless, it has reached a stage of its

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

where it has consumed the hydrogen at its core and expanded into what is termed a

bright giant A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press ...

star, with a stellar classification of K3 II. The star is now burning

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

into

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

in its core. After it has finished generating energy through nuclear fusion, Gamma Aquilae will become a

white dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

. The star has an estimated 3.5 times the mass of the Sun and has expanded to 92 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating over times the luminosity of the Sun. An effective temperature of in its outer envelope gives it the orange hue typical of K-type stars. A 1991 catalogue of

photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electro ...

reported that Gamma Aquilae showed some variation in its brightness, but this has not been confirmed.

Nomenclature

''γ Aquilae'' ( Latinised to ''Gamma Aquilae'') is the star's Bayer designation. It bore the traditional name ''Tarazed'', which may derive from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

شاهين ترازو ''šāhin tarāzu'' "the beam of the scale", referring to an asterism of the Scale, Alpha, Beta and Gamma Aquilae. (Persian ''šāhīn'' means "royal falcon", "beam", and "pointer", and gave its name (as "falcon") to

Beta Aquilae Beta Aquilae, Latinized from β Aquilae, is a triple star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is visible to the naked eye as a point-like source with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.87. Based on parallax measuremen ...

.) In 2016, the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

organized a

Working Group on Star Names The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under Division C – Education ...

(WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name ''Tarazed'' for this star on 21 August 2016 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. In the catalogue of stars in the ''Calendarium of Al Achsasi Al Mouakket'', this star was designated ''Menkib al Nesr'' (''منكب ألنسر'' - ''mankib al-nasr''), which was translated into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''Humerus Vulturis'', meaning 'the eagle's shoulder'. In

Chinese astronomy Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the twe ...

, (), meaning '' River Drum'', refers to an asterism consisting of Gamma Aquilae,

and

Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql ...

. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are ofte ...

for Gamma Aquilae itself is (, en, the Third Star of River Drum). In the Chinese folk tale ''

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" are characters found in Chinese mythology and characters appearing eponymously in a romantic Chinese folk tale. The story tells of the romance between Zhinü (; the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega) and N ...

, Gamma Aquilae and

are the children of Niulang (牛郎, The Cowherd,

) and Zhinü (織女, The Princess,

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...

). The Koori people of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

knew Beta and Gamma Aquilae as the black swan wives of ''Bunjil'' (Altair), the

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

References

External links

Tarazed

HR 7525

Image Gamma Aquilae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamma Aquilae K-type bright giants Suspected variables Aquila (constellation) Aquilae, Gamma Durchmusterung objects Aquilae, 50 186791 097278 7525 Tarazed