Named after the Greek God Zeus' Eagle. It is said that the Eagle brought Ganymede to Zeus, to act as his cup Bearer.

Aquila's main star is Altair, the 12th brightest star in the sky.

Aquila also contains NGC 6709, a beautiful open cluster that has a rich background of stars to frame it.

Two novae have appeared in Aquila in the recorded past. The first was in 389 AD and was said to be as bright as Venus. The second was in 1918 and became as bright as Altair.