Albali is a white star at the western edge of Aquarius, its Arabic name meaning the swallower, from an old lunar mansion of this part of the sky.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 208 light-years (63.7 pc) |
| its light left it | 208 years ago |
| luminosity | 130 × the Sun |
| radius | 4.4 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 9,300 K |
| constellation | Aquarius (Water Bearer) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Albali
It is a white star of class A, hotter than the Sun and larger, shining with many times its light. Nothing about it is unusual; it is a typical bright star of its kind, a little way along in its life.
Albali is Epsilon Aquarii. Its name comes from the Arabic al-bāliʿ, “the swallower”, part of one of the lucky-star mansions that crowd this region of the sky. It marks the water bearer’s left hand, near the border with Capricornus.
What you see in the piece
Albali is faint to the eye and drawn at its true brightness, so in the human eye view it barely shows above the limit from a bright sky. Fly out and it separates from the rest of Aquarius in depth.
Questions
What does Albali mean?
Albali comes from the Arabic al-bāliʿ, “the swallower”, from the name of one of the Arabic lunar mansions.