Aquarius Constellation | Constellations In The Southern Hemisphere

Aquarius Constellation | Constellations In The Southern Hemisphere

AQUARIUS CONSTELLATION – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the southern constellation Aquarius , the Water Bearer.

AQUARIUS CONSTELLATION
Image from: Star Registration

It is a constellation that lies in the southern sky. Its name means the water-bearer” or “cup-bearer” in Latin.

The constellation lies in the region of the sky known as the sea. The sea contains a number of other constellations with names associated with water like Pisces, Eridanus, and Cetus.

Aquarius contains the famous supergiant stars Sadalsuud and Sadalmelik, the globular clusters Messier 2 and Messier 72, the asterism Messier 73, the Aquarius Dwarf Galaxy, Atoms for Peace Galaxy, and two well-known nebulae: the Saturn Nebula and the Helix Nebula.

Aquarius is depicted as a young man pouring water or nectar from an amphora into the mouth of the Southern Fish, Piscis Austrinus.

It is also associated with Ganymede, the son of King Tros, who caught Zeus’ eye. The god took him to Olympus to serve as cup-bearer to the gods.

Aquarius is identified in Babylonian mythology as GU.LA or the great one, the god Ea. In Egypt, it was known as the the god of the Nile.

It is the 10th largest constellation and occupies an area of about 1294 square degrees. It lies in SQ4, the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere.

Aquarius belongs to the Zodiac family, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, and Pisces.

Stars

Among the stars include:

  • 88 Aquarii
  • Albali
  • Ancha
  • Bosona
  • Bunda
  • Epsilon Aquarii
  • Gliese 849
  • Gliese 876
  • Lambda Aquarii
  • Lionrock
  • Márohu
  • Psi-1 Aquarii
  • R Aquarii
  • Sadachbia
  • Sadalmelik
  • Sadalsuud
  • Sadaltager
  • Situla
  • Skat

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