Aquarius, the Water Bearer, is an ancient zodiac constellation of faint stars, the figure of a man pouring water across a dim stretch of the autumn sky.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 16 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Zeta¹ Aquarii, 91.9 light-years (28.2 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Pi Aquarii, 782 light-years (240 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 8.5 × farther than the nearest |
| zodiac | ♒ the ecliptic runs through it |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Aquarius
Aquarius is among the oldest figures in the sky, inherited from Babylonian star lore and catalogued by Ptolemy. It lies in a region full of watery constellations, beside Capricornus, Pisces, Cetus, Piscis Austrinus and Eridanus, and the stream from the bearer’s jar was imagined flowing down towards the bright star Fomalhaut. The Sun passes through it each year, so the planets and the Moon cross it too.
None of its stars is bright. Sadalsuud and Sadalmelik, the two leading stars, are rare yellow supergiants, far more luminous than the Sun. The small Y of stars around Zeta Aquarii is called the Water Jar. Aquarius also holds the Helix Nebula, one of the nearest planetary nebulae, and the Saturn Nebula, and the faint red dwarf EZ Aquarii lies within its borders.
The Eta Aquariid meteors, debris shed by Halley’s Comet, appear to radiate from the Water Jar. The constellation is best seen in the evening during northern autumn, when it lies low in the south for European observers and high overhead from the southern hemisphere.
What you see in the piece
Fly out with CONSTELLATIONS on and the water bearer dissolves. Zeta¹ Aquarii is nearby by the standards of the figure, while Pi Aquarii lies many times deeper, and the jar, the arm and the stream scatter in every direction.
Questions
What are the brightest stars in Aquarius?
Sadalsuud and Sadalmelik, two yellow supergiants. Neither is bright in our sky, because both are very far away.
How deep is the Aquarius figure?
Its nearest star is Zeta¹ Aquarii, 91.9 light-years (28.2 pc) away, and its farthest is Pi Aquarii, 782 light-years (240 pc): the farthest is 8.5 × farther than the nearest.