Vega

Related Category: Astronomy: Stars

(vā´gə), brightest star in the constellation Lyra; Bayer designation Alpha Lyrae; 1992 position R.A. 18^h36.7^m, Dec. +38°47&minut;. A white main-sequence star of spectral class A0 V, its apparent magnitude is 0.1, making it the fifth brightest star in the sky. Vega is about three times the size of the sun and 50 times as luminous. Its distance from the earth is 26 light-years. Its name is from the Arabic for “falling eagle,” referring to the figure that the Arabs associated with the constellation Lyra.