Altair vs Vega

Property Altair Vega
Designación 53Alp Aql 3Alp Lyr
Constelación Aquila Lyra
Clase Espectral Class A — A-type (White) Class A — A-type (White)
Magnitud Aparente +0.76 +0.03
Magnitud Absoluta 2.21 0.60
Distancia 16.7 ly 25.0 ly
Masa N/A N/A
Radio N/A N/A
Temperatura N/A N/A
Luminosidad 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.

Related Comparisons

← All Comparisons