Altair vs Wega

Property Altair Wega
Bezeichnung 53Alp Aql 3Alp Lyr
Sternbild Aquila Lyra
Spektralklasse Class A — A-type (White) Class A — A-type (White)
Scheinbare Helligkeit +0.76 +0.03
Absolute Helligkeit 2.21 0.60
Entfernung 16.7 ly 25.0 ly
Masse N/A N/A
Radius N/A N/A
Temperatur N/A N/A
Leuchtkraft N/A N/A

Key Differences

  • Both are A-type stars forming part of the Summer Triangle asterism along with Deneb.
  • Vega is at 25 light-years; Altair is even closer at 16.7 light-years.
  • Altair rotates extremely rapidly (once every 10.4 hours), making it noticeably oblate; Vega also rotates fast but less extremely.
  • Vega is about four times more luminous than Altair.
  • Vega has a prominent debris disk suggesting possible planetary formation; Altair's disk is less prominent.

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