An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The brightest star in the constellation → Lyra and the 5th brightest star in the sky. It is an A type → main sequence star of visual magnitude 0.03. Vega is also one of the closer stars to the Earth, lying just 25.0 light-years away. Vega's axis of rotation is nearly pointing at the Earth, therefore it is viewed pole-on. Fast rotation has flattened Vega at its poles, turning it from a sphere into an oblate spheroid. The polar diameter of Vega is 2.26 times that of the Sun, and its equatorial diameter 2.75 solar. The poles are therefore hotter (10,150 K) than the equator (7,950 K).

Vega, from Ar. al-Waqi' contraction of an-Nasr al-Waqi' (النسر‌الواقع) "swooping eagle," from an-Nasr "eagle, vulture" + al-Waqi' "falling, swooping."