Editing Vega (section)

==Etymology and cultural significance==
{{See also|Summer Triangle|Stars in astrology#Vega}}

The name Vega is believed to be derived from the [[Arabic]] term ''Al Nesr al Waki'' '''النسر الواقع''' which appeared in the [[Al Achsasi al Mouakket]] star catalogue and was translated into [[Latin]] as ''Vultur Cadens'', "the falling eagle/vulture".<ref name=mnras55_429/><ref group=note name=vulture/> The constellation was represented as a vulture in [[ancient Egypt]],<ref name=massey2001/> and as an eagle or vulture in [[History of India|ancient India]].<ref name=olcott1911/><ref name=houlding2005/> The Arabic name then appeared in the [[western world]] in the ''[[Alfonsine tables]]'',<ref name=Kunitzsch86/> which were drawn up between 1215 and 1270 by order of [[King Alfonso X]].<ref name=brill7_292/> Medieval [[astrolabe]]s of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Western Europe]] used the names Wega and Alvaca, and depicted it and [[Altair]] as birds.<ref name=Gingerish1987/>

Among the northern [[Polynesia]]n people, Vega was known as ''whetu o te tau'', the year star. For a period of history it marked the start of their new year when the ground would be prepared for planting. Eventually this function became denoted by the [[Pleiades]].<ref name=jps28_18/> A Hawaiian name is Keho‘oea; in [[Native Hawaiian]] culture objects can have different names depending on their position in the sky, so it is also known as Kahō‘eoa, Kaho‘ea or Keoe.<ref name="Vievard2023"/>

The [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] named this pole star Dayan-same, the "Judge of Heaven", while in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] it was Tir-anna, "Life of Heaven".<!-- see Allen reference below --> In [[Babylonian astronomy]], Vega may have been one of the stars named Dilgan, "the Messenger of Light". To the [[ancient Greeks]], the constellation Lyra was formed from the harp of [[Orpheus]], with Vega as its handle.<ref name=kendall1845/> For the [[Roman Empire]], the start of autumn was based upon the hour at which Vega set below the horizon.<ref name=allen1963/>

In [[Chinese astronomy|Chinese]], {{lang|zh|織女}} ({{lang|zh-Latn|Zhī Nǚ}}), meaning ''[[Ox (Chinese constellation)|Weaving Girl]] (asterism)'', refers to an [[Asterism (astronomy)|asterism]] consisting of Vega, [[ε Lyrae]] and [[Zeta1 Lyrae|ζ<sup>1</sup> Lyrae]].<ref name=zh/> Consequently, the [[Chinese star names|Chinese name]] for Vega is {{lang|zh|織女一}} ({{lang|zh-Latn|Zhī Nǚ yī}}, {{langx|en|the First Star of Weaving Girl}}).<ref name=aeea/> In [[Chinese mythology]], there is a love story of [[Qixi]] ({{lang|zh|七夕}}) in which Niulang ({{lang|zh|牛郎}}, [[Altair]]) and his two children ([[β Aquilae]] and [[γ Aquilae]]) are separated from their mother Zhinü ({{lang|zh|織女}}, lit. "weaver girl", Vega) who is on the far side of the river, the [[Milky Way]].<ref name=wei_yue_tao2005/> However, one day per year on the seventh day of the seventh month of the [[Chinese calendar|Chinese lunisolar calendar]], [[magpie]]s make a bridge so that Niulang and Zhinü can be together again for a brief encounter. The Japanese [[Tanabata]] festival, in which Vega is known as ''Orihime'' (織姫), is also based on this legend.<ref name=kippas1919/>

In [[Zoroastrianism]], Vega was sometimes associated with Vanant, a minor divinity whose name means "conqueror".<ref name=boyce1996/>

The indigenous [[Wergaia|Boorong]] people of north-western [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], Australia, named it ''Neilloan'',<ref name=hamacher/> "the flying [[Malleefowl|loan]]".<ref name=stanbridge/>

In Indian astronomy and astrology, Vega is represented by the [[nakshatra]] [[Abhijit (nakshatra)|Abhijit]]. In the ''[[Srimad Bhagavatam]]'', [[Krishna|Shri Krishna]] tells [[Arjuna]], that among the Nakshatras he is Abhijit, which remark indicates the auspiciousness of this Nakshatra.<ref name=vedabase/>

[[Medieval]] [[astrologer]]s counted Vega as one of the [[Behenian fixed star|Behenian stars]]<ref name=tyson1993/> and related it to [[Olivine|chrysolite]] and [[winter savory]]. [[Cornelius Agrippa]] listed its [[kabbalistic]] sign [[Image:Agrippa1531 Vulturcadens.png]] under ''Vultur cadens'', a literal Latin translation of the Arabic name.<ref name=argippa1533/> Medieval star charts also listed the alternate names Waghi, Vagieh and Veka for this star.<ref name=burnham1978/>

[[W. H. Auden]]'s 1933 poem "[[On This Island|A Summer Night (to Geoffrey Hoyland)]]"<ref name=auden/> famously opens with the couplet, "Out on the lawn I lie in bed,/Vega conspicuous overhead". In the 1997 film ''[[Contact (1997 American film)|Contact]]'', the Vega system is the source of alien communication.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 November 2024 |title=NASA's Hubble, Webb Probe Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega |url=https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-030 |publisher=[[STScI]]}}</ref>

Vega became the first star to have a car named after it with the French [[Facel Vega]] line of cars from 1954 onwards, and later on, in America, [[Chevrolet]] launched the [[Chevrolet Vega|Vega]] in 1971.<ref name=frommert/> Other vehicles named after Vega include the [[ESA]]'s [[Vega (rocket)|Vega]] launch system<ref name=esa20050520/> and the [[Lockheed Vega]] aircraft.<ref name=rumerman2003/>