All Star Line Up

Vega: Rapidly Rotating Blue-White Star

What's in a Name:	Arabic for "the swooping [vulture]". Called the Vulture star during ancient times in the Middle East & India. Known as "the Weaving-Princes's" star in Asia
Claim to Fame:	Fifth brightest star in the sky. Forms one corner of the Summer Triangle with Deneb and Altair. Recently discovered to be rotating very fast, but viewed from almost directly above the rotation axis.
Type of Star:	blue-white main sequence star (spectral class A0 V)
How Far Away:	26 light years
How Big:	radius 2.3 (pole) to 2.8 (equator) times as big as the sun's
How Bright:	37 times as bright as the sun in visible light
Where to View:	In the constellation of Lyra
When to View:	June through August

Last modified February 16, 2006 by Travis Metcalfe.
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