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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • This is referencing the constellation of the eagle, or aquila in Latin. The names of the stars in each constellation are referred to by a Greek letter plus the genitive (possessive) form of the constellation name, in the order of apparent brightness. Thus, the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila is Alpha Aquilae, or “alpha [star] of the eagle” (but it is also known by its Arabic name, Altair). The brightest in the constellation of Taurus (the bull) is Alpha Tauri, which also bears the Arabic name Aldebaran.

    Without anything for it to modify, aquilae is also the nominative plural form of the word (i.e., eagles).

    The same word is also found in the taxonomic names of some eagle species. The Golden Eagle, for instance, is Aquila chrysaetos. The first word, the genus, is just Latin for eagle. The second part, the species, is classical Greek for “golden eagle”. The “golden” part (chrys-) is also responsible for the name of the chrysanthemum, Greek for “golden flower”.