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Aquarius
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Abbreviation	Aqr
Genitive	Aquarii
Symbology	the Water-bearer
Right ascension	23 h
Declination	−15°
Area	980 sq. deg. Ranked 10th
Number of stars (magnitude < 3)	2
Brightest star	β Aqr (Sadalsuud) (App. magnitude 2.9)
Meteor showers	March Aquarids Eta Aquarids (May 4) Delta Aquarids (June 28) Iota Aquarids
Bordering constellations	Pisces Pegasus Equuleus Delphinus Aquila Capricornus Piscis Austrinus Sculptor Cetus
Visible at latitudes between +65° and −90° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of October

Aquarius (Latin for the Water-bearer or Cup-bearer, symbol , Unicode ♒) is the eleventh sign of the zodiac, situated between Capricornus and Pisces. Its symbol is , representing part of a stream of water.

Aquarius is one of the oldest recognized constellations along the zodiac, the sun's apparent path. It is found in a region often called the Sea due to its profusion of watery constellations such as Cetus, Pisces, Eridanus, etc. Sometimes, the river Eridanus is depicted spilling from Aquarius' watering pot.

Contents 1 Notable deep sky objects 2 History 3 Mythology 3.1 Astrology 4 Notable and named stars 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Notable deep sky objects

There are three deep sky objects that are on the Messier catalog, the Globular Cluster M2, Globular Cluster M72, and the Open Cluster M73.

Two planetary nebulae are found in Aquarius: NGC 7009, called the Saturn Nebula due to its resemblance to the planet, to the southeast of η Aquarii; and NGC 7293, the famous Helix Nebula, southwest of δ Aquarii.

History

The constellation was immortalized in the 1960s, proclaimed the Age of Aquarius. However, there is no standard definition for astrological ages, so the age of Aquarius could begin in 2150 or even 2660, depending on the preferred definition. Based on the modern constellation boundaries of Pisces and Aquarius, the age of Aquarius would begin around 2660.

However, with so much of modern society reflecting the qualities of Aquarius most astrologers believe that this era has begun. Mass production, electricity, flight and space travel, electronic communications including computers the Internet, even the growing movement against capitalism in favour of a more socialist system of humanitarian development are all related to the Aquarian paradigm.

Mythology

The best-known myth identifies Aquarius with Ganymede, a beautiful youth with whom Zeus fell in love, and whom he (in the guise of an eagle, represented as the constellation Aquila) carried off to Olympus to be cupbearer to the gods. Crater is sometimes identified as his cup.

Aquarius generally resembles the figure of a man, and when considering fainter humanly visible stars, it takes on the image of a man with a bucket from which is pouring a stream. Aquarius was also identified as the pourer of the waters which flooded the earth in the Great Flood, in the ancient Greek version of the myth. As such, the constellation Eridanus was sometimes identified as being a river poured out by Aquarius.

It may also, together with the constellation Pegasus, be part of the origin of the myth of the Mares of Diomedes, which forms one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles. Its association with pouring out rivers, and the nearby constellation of Capricornus, may be the source of the myth of the Augean stable, which forms another of the labours.

Astrology

The Western astrological sign Aquarius of the tropical zodiac (January 20 - February 18) differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (February 16 - March 11).

In some cosmologies, Aquarius is associated with the classical element Air, and thus called an Air Sign (with Libra and Gemini). It is also one of the four Fixed signs (along with Leo, Scorpio, and Taurus). Its polar opposite is Leo. It is the domicile of Saturn (since its discovery Uranus has been considered Aquarius' ruling or co-ruling planet by many modern astrologers). Each astrological sign is assigned a part of the body, viewed as the seat of its power. Aquarius rules the circulatory system as well as the ankles. The symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer.

Notable and named stars

BD	F	Names and other designations	Mag.	Ly away	Comments
β	22	Beta Aquarii, Sadalsuud, Sadalsud, Sad es Saud, Sadalsund, Saad el Sund	2.90	610	< سعد السعودLuck of sacd as-sucūd sacd as-sucūd Luck of lucks
α	34	Alpha Aquarii, Sadalmelik, Sadal Melik, Sadalmelek, Sadlamulk, El Melik, Saad el Melik, Ruchbah	2.95	760	< سعد الملك sacd al-malik/mulk Luck of the king/kinghood Rucbah shared with δ Cassiopeiae
γ	48	Gamma Aquarii, Sadachbia, Sadalachbia	3.86	158	< سعد الأخبية sacd[u] al-axbiyah Luck of the tents (homes) [lit. hidings/shelters]
δ	76	Delta Aquarii, Skat, Scheat, Seat, Sheat	3.27	160	< ? ši'at A wish ? Seat shared with π Aquarii
ζ¹,²	55	Zeta Aquarii	3.65	105	binary star; component magnitudes 4.42, 4.59
c²	88	88 Aquarii	3.68	234
λ	73	Lambda Aquarii, Hydor, Ekkhysis	3.73	392	< ‘υδωρ The water; εκχυσις The outpouring
ε	2	Epsilon Aquarii, Albali, Al Bali	3.78	230	< البالع albālic The swallower
b¹	98	98 Aquarii	3.96	162
η	62	Eta Aquarii	4.04	184
τ²	71	Tau-2 Aquarii	4.05	380
θ	43	Theta Aquarii, Ancha	4.17	191	< OHG ancha "the haunch"
φ	90	Phi Aquarii	4.22	222
ψ¹	91	Psi-1 Aquarii	4.24	148
ι	33	Iota Aquarii	4.29	173
b²	99	99 Aquarii	4.38
ψ²	93	Psi-2 Aquarii	4.41	322	Be star
k	3	3 Aquarii	4.43
c¹	86	86 Aquarii	4.48
ω²	105	Omega-2 Aquarii	4.49	154
ν	13	Nu Aquarii, Albulaan	4.50	164	< ? al-bulacān The (two) swallowers Albulaan shared with μ Aquarii.
π	52	Pi Aquarii, Seat	4.66	1100	Seat shared with δ Aquarii Gamma Cassiopeiae type variable star
ξ	23	Xi Aquarii	4.68	179
g	66	66 Aquarii	4.68
b³	101	101 Aquarii	4.70
c³	89	89 Aquarii	4.71
μ	6	Mu Aquarii, Albulaan	4.73	155	< ? al-bulacān The (two) swallowers Albulaan shared with ν Aquarii.
ο	31	Omicron Aquarii, Kae Uh	4.74	381	< 蓋屋 (Mandarin gaìwū) The roof Gamma Cassiopeiae type variable star
σ	57	Sigma Aquarii	4.82	265
A²	104	104 Aquarii	4.82		double star; component magnitudes 4.82, 8.58
χ	92	Chi Aquarii	4.93	640
ω¹	102	Omega-1 Aquarii	4.97	134
ψ³	95	Psi-3 Aquarii	4.99	249
κ	63	Kappa Aquarii, Situla	5.04	234	< "the water jar"
d	25	25 Aquarii	5.10
	47	47 Aquarii	5.12
	1	1 Aquarii	5.15
i³	108	108 Aquarii	5.17
	97	97 Aquarii	5.19
	94	94 Aquarii	5.20
υ	59	Upsilon Aquarii	5.21	74.2
i¹	106	106 Aquarii	5.24
	68	68 Aquarii	5.24
i²	107	107 Aquarii	5.28
	32	32 Aquarii	5.29
	41	41 Aquarii	5.33
	42	42 Aquarii	5.34
ρ	46	Rho Aquarii	5.35	740
A¹	103	103 Aquarii	5.36
e	38	38 Aquarii	5.43
h	83	83 Aquarii	5.44
	18	18 Aquarii	5.48
	21	21 Aquarii	5.48
	7	7 Aquarii	5.49
	12	12 Aquarii	5.53		double star; component magnitudes: 5.89, 7.31
	49	49 Aquarii	5.53
	77	77 Aquarii	5.53
	5	5 Aquarii	5.55
f	53	53 Aquarii	5.55		double star; component magnitudes: 6.35, 6.57
	30	30 Aquarii	5.55
	96	96 Aquarii	5.56
	26	26 Aquarii	5.66
τ¹	69	Tau-1 Aquarii	5.68	260
	19	19 Aquarii	5.71
	44	44 Aquarii	5.75
h		h Aquarii	5.76
	50	50 Aquarii	5.76
	51	51 Aquarii	5.79
	35	35 Aquarii	5.80
	74	74 Aquarii	5.80
	15	15 Aquarii	5.83
	16	16 Aquarii	5.87
	60	60 Aquarii	5.88
	45	45 Aquarii	5.96
	2	2 Aquarii	5.99
	17	17 Aquarii	5.99
	39	39 Aquarii	6.04
	82	82 Aquarii	6.18
	70	70 Aquarii	6.19
	78	78 Aquarii	6.20
	11	11 Aquarii	6.21
	81	81 Aquarii	6.23
	100	100 Aquarii	6.24
	56	56 Aquarii	6.36
	20	20 Aquarii	6.38
	29	29 Aquarii	6.39
	58	58 Aquarii	6.39
	61	61 Aquarii	6.40
	37	37 Aquarii	6.64
	24	24 Aquarii	6.66
		EZ Aquarii	12.66	11.26	flare star nearby

Source: The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed., The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA SP-1200

See also

Astronomy | Constellations of the Zodiac | Astrology

Aries (♈) | Taurus (♉) | Gemini (♊) | Cancer (♋) | Leo (♌) | Virgo (♍) | Libra (♎) | Scorpius/Scorpio (♏) | Ophiuchus | Sagittarius (♐) | Capricornus/Capricorn (♑) | Aquarius (♒) | Pisces (♓)

Constellations listed by Ptolemy

Andromeda | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Argo Navis | Aries | Auriga | Boötes | Cancer | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Corona Australis | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Cygnus | Delphinus | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Gemini | Hercules | Hydra | Leo | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lyra | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pegasus | Perseus | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Serpens | Taurus | Triangulum | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Virgo

The 88 modern Constellations

Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Boötes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Chamaeleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Australis | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium | Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros | Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus | Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.

External links

• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aquarius
• NightSkyInfo.com: Constellation Aquarius
• Aquarius Links on Yahoo.com
• Aquarius Links on Astrology.com
• Aquarius Links on DoubleSign.com

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