What is Altair?
Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It lies approximately 16.7 light-years from Earth — close enough for a Cosmic Echo signal to arrive within a human generation.
Type: A7V — a white main-sequence star
Mass: ~1.8 solar masses
Luminosity: ~10.6 times the Sun
Distance: 16.7 light-years
Constellation: Aquila (the Eagle)
Apparent magnitude: 0.76
Type: A7V — a white main-sequence star
Mass: ~1.8 solar masses
Luminosity: ~10.6 times the Sun
Distance: 16.7 light-years
Constellation: Aquila (the Eagle)
Apparent magnitude: 0.76
The Summer Triangle — Altair, Vega, and Deneb
On northern summer evenings, three bright stars dominate the overhead sky: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Together they form the Summer Triangle — one of the easiest asterisms for beginners to learn and one of the most beautiful landmarks of the warm season.
Cosmic Echo already offers Vega (25 light-years). Altair completes the nearby pair: brighter in cultural sky lore as Aquila's heart, closer at 16.7 light-years, and visible in the same glance as Vega on a July night.
Couples and friends sometimes send two messages — one to Vega, one to Altair — so both Summer Triangle stars carry a signal. Two trackers. Same sky. Parallel journeys.
Cosmic Echo already offers Vega (25 light-years). Altair completes the nearby pair: brighter in cultural sky lore as Aquila's heart, closer at 16.7 light-years, and visible in the same glance as Vega on a July night.
Couples and friends sometimes send two messages — one to Vega, one to Altair — so both Summer Triangle stars carry a signal. Two trackers. Same sky. Parallel journeys.
Ready to send your own words into the universe? Digital certificate from $29.
Compose your messageA star that spins so fast it flattens
Altair is famous among astronomers for its rotation. It spins once every ~9 hours — so fast that centrifugal force flattens it into an oblate spheroid. The equator bulges; the poles run hotter. Interferometry at Palomar directly measured that shape — one of the first stars whose distorted figure was resolved on the sky.
That physical personality makes Altair more than "another bright star." It is a nearby laboratory for how rapid rotation reshapes a sun. Your message is aimed at a world that is literally stretched by its own spin.
That physical personality makes Altair more than "another bright star." It is a nearby laboratory for how rapid rotation reshapes a sun. Your message is aimed at a world that is literally stretched by its own spin.
Altair in myth and culture
In Chinese mythology, Altair is associated with the cowherd in the Qixi / Tanabata legend — the star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way and reunited once a year. Vega plays the weaving princess. The Summer Triangle becomes a love story written across the sky.
That makes Altair an especially resonant destination for love letters, anniversaries, and proposals: not only a bright nearby star, but a myth already about longing across distance.
That makes Altair an especially resonant destination for love letters, anniversaries, and proposals: not only a bright nearby star, but a myth already about longing across distance.
What the Signal Tracker shows for Altair
After transmission:
1.3 seconds: Past the Moon
Hours: Beyond the outer solar system
1 year: One light-year out
16.7 years: Arrival at Altair
Find Altair in the Summer Triangle each year and check how far the signal has climbed toward it.
1.3 seconds: Past the Moon
Hours: Beyond the outer solar system
1 year: One light-year out
16.7 years: Arrival at Altair
Find Altair in the Summer Triangle each year and check how far the signal has climbed toward it.
~6 hours
To transmission
1420 MHz
Hydrogen line
299,792 km/s
Signal speed
$29
Digital certificate
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know
Your words deserve to travel forever
Digital certificate $29. Your message transmits within hours.
Send Your Message