Aquarius

Free Constellations Clipart

Abbreviation:  Aqr
English Name:  The Water Bearer
Genitive: Sadalmelik
Hemisphere: Northern / Southern Hemisphere (Underlined means the more area in square feet in the Southern Hemisphere.)
Location: Between the constellations of Pisces and Capricorn.
Visible between latitudes:  +65 and -90 degrees
Best season: Autumn
Seen in three seasons: Summer, Autumn and Winter
Best seen in: October
Seen between: September and November
Right Ascension (RA): 23 hour
Declination (DEC): -15 degrees
Area (square degrees):  980 (10th)

Aquarius (The Water Bearer)

  • A constellation of the zodiac (ecliptic), the Sun passing through it from 16th February to 11th March every year.
  • The well-known constellation represents a figure pouring water from a jar.
  • There are two important planetary nebulae; The Saturn Nebula and The Helix Nebula, also contains two globular clusters; Messier 2 and Messier 72.

Messier Objects

  • M – a globular cluster, just too faint to be seen with the naked-eye in dark conditions, but easy to see with binoculars or a small telescope.
  • M72 – Satellite galaxy of The Andromeda Galaxy(Elliptical Galaxy).

Other objects in Aquarius

Features of Interest

  • NGC7009 – The Saturn Nebula; a planetary Nebula – when seen through a telescope with an aperture of 200mm/8-inch or more, it appears to have an external body part that resembles the rings of Saturn.
  • NGC7293 – The Helix Nebula; possibly the closest planetary nebula to Earth – only 300 light years away.

Brightest Objects in Aquarius

Named Stars

  • Sadalmelik (Alpha Aqr)
  • Sadalsuud (Beta Aqr)
  • Sadalachbia (Gamma Aqr)
  • Skat (Delta Aqr)
  • Albali (Epsilon Aqr)
  • Ancha (Theta Aqr)
  • Situla (Kappa Aqr)

Others

  • Photo of the constellation Aquarius, as it appears to the naked-eye (Lines have been added for clarity.)
  • Sky Chart  – Aquarius
  • List of stars in Aquarius.

Back to The 88 Constellations Lists  page.

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