Mu Aquilae


Mu Aquilae is a single star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from μ Aquilae, and abbreviated Mu Aql or μ Aql. With an apparent visual magnitude of 4.45, it is visible to the naked eye. The measured annual parallax shift of this star is, which gives a distance estimate of from Earth. It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −25 km/s, and displays a relatively high proper motion, traversing the celestial sphere at the rate of per year.
The stellar classification of Mu Aquilae is K3-IIIb Fe0.5, indicating that this is an evolved giant star with a mild overabundance of iron appearing in its spectrum. It belongs to a sub-category of giants called the red clump, which means it is generating energy through the fusion of helium at its core. Compared to the Sun, it has 116% of the mass and has expanded to 7.7 times the size. This inflated outer envelope has an effective temperature of 4,567 K and is radiating 24.5 times the Sun's luminosity. At this heat, Mu Aquilae glows with the orange hue of a K-type star. It is roughly seven billion years old.