Meet Aquarius the Water Bearer and its stars
Aquarius lies in a “watery” part of the sky, near Pisces the Fish, Cetus the Whale, Eridanus the River and Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish. The post Meet Aquarius the Water Bearer and its stars first appeared on EarthSky .
Aquarius the Water Bearer is a zodiac constellation with dim stars, best visible in the Northern Hemisphere fall or Southern Hemisphere spring. It lies between Capricornus and Pisces, and its faint stars are challenging to spot without a dark sky. Aquarius is associated with water and is often depicted pouring water into the mouth of the Southern Fish (Piscis Austrinus).
The two brightest stars are Beta Aquarii (Sadalsuud) and Alpha Aquarii (Sadalmelik), while other notable stars include Delta Aquarii (Skat) and Psi Aquarii, which form an asterism called the Water Jar. Aquarius contains several Messier objects, such as globular clusters M2 and M72, and an open cluster M73. It also houses the Saturn Nebula (NGC 7009) and the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293).
In mythology, Aquarius represents the deluge sent by Zeus to punish humanity, as well as Hapi, the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile River.
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