Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac, with a name that is Latin for “water-carrier” or “cup-carrier.” This would correlate with its representation of water. Aquarius is one of the oldest of the recognized constellations along the zodiac with 2nd century BC astronomy Ptolemy making note of the constellation. The region of the sky that Aquarius is found in has several constellations with water associations.

At apparent magnitude 2.9, Beta Aquarii is the brightest star in the constellation. At least 12 exoplanet systems have been found in Aquarius.

	Applicable Information
Visibility In Pacific Northwest	June to December
Best Times To View	September
Right Ascension	20h 38m 19.1706s– 23h 56m 23.5355s
Declination	03.3256676°–−24.9040413°
Area	980 square degrees
Main Stars	10, 22
Brightest Object	β Aqr
Meteor showers	March Aquariids, Eta Aquariids, Delta Aquariids, Iota Aquariids
Messier objects	3
Neighboring Constellations	Pisces, Pegasus, Equuleus, Delphinus, Aquila, Capricornus, Piscis Austrinus, Sculptor, Cetus

Mythology

Aquarius is identified as GU.LA “The Great One” in the Babylonian star catalogues. This was from the second millennium BC, when the constellation contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age.

 In Old Babylonian astronomy, Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively connoted.

In Ancient Egypt astronomy, Aquarius was associated with the annual flood of the Nile.

In the Greek tradition, the constellation came to be represented simply as a single vase from which a stream poured down to Piscis Austrinus.

The name Aquarius in the Hindu zodiac is kumbha or “water-pitcher”.

In Greek mythology, Aquarius is sometimes associated with Deucalion, the son of Prometheus who built a ship with his wife Pyrrha to survive an imminent flood.

Aquarius is also sometimes identified with beautiful Ganymede, a youth in Greek mythology and the son of Trojan king Tros, who was taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus to act as cup-carrier to the gods.

In Chinese astronomy, the stream of water flowing from the Water Jar was depicted as the “Army of Yu-Lin.” “Yu-lin” translates to “feathers and forests,” which references the numerous light-footed soldiers from the northern reaches of the empire represented by these faint stars.

Stars

Although Aquarius lacks bright stars, the 4 brightest stars of Aquarius are all less than magnitude 2. There appears to be several stars lying within its borders that possess planetary systems.

The two brightest stars, Alpha and Beta Aquarii, are luminous yellow supergiants, that are moving through space perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way.

Aquarius has several galaxies, globular clusters, and planetary nebula can be found. Aquarius contains 3 Messier objects. There are the globular clusters Messier 2, and Messier 72, and open cluster Messier 73. 2 planetary nebulae located in Aquarius that are more well known are the Saturn Nebula, or NGC 7009 and the Helix Nebula, or NGC 7293.

M2, also catalogued as NGC 7089, is a rich globular cluster, which is viewable in small-aperture instruments. A 100 mm aperture telescope is required to resolve any stars in M2. M72, also catalogued as NGC 6981, is a small globular cluster. M73, catalogued as NGC 6994, is an open cluster.

NGC 7009, or the Saturn Nebula, is planetary nebula that got its nickname because of resemblance to the planet Saturn in a telescope. There are faint protrusions on either side of the object that resembles Saturn’s rings. NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula, is the closest planetary nebula to Earth, making it the largest planetary nebula as seen from Earth.

NGC 7727 is a visible galaxy that is visible for amateur astronomers, who can view this spiral galaxy.

Formed as a result of 2 large galaxies colliding, NGC 7252 is known as the Atoms-for-Peace galaxy for of its resemblance to a cartoon atom.

Observers can find 3 major meteor showers with radiants in Aquarius; the Eta Aquariids, the Delta Aquariids, and the Iota Aquariids.

The Eta Aquariids are the strongest meteor shower radiating from Aquarius that peaks May 5th and 6th, with a rate of approximately 35 meteors per hour. The parent body of the shower is Halley’s Comet.

The Delta Aquariids is a meteor shower with peaks on July 29th and August 6th.

The Iota Aquariids is a fairly weak meteor shower that peaks on August 6th, with a rate of approximately 8 meteors per hour.

Make sure to check out other articles on the site, including a brief introduction to constellations, other constellation articles, and more!