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Aquarius (abbr. Aqr, gen. Aquarii)
The Water-bearer; a large but quite faint southern constellation and the twelfth sign of the zodiac. It is surrounded by Pegasus, Equuleus, and Delphinus to the north, Aquila to the west, Capricornus so the sothwest, Pisces Austrinus and Sculptor to the south, and Cetus to the east. The stars Sadachbia (Gamma), Eta Aqr, Zeta Aqr, and Pi Aqr form a small Y-shaped asterism, called the Water Jar or Urn, thought to mark the Water-bearer's cup. See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars and interesting deep sky objects.
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| Aquarius. © 2003 Torsten Bronger. Copied here under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star | Visual mag. |
Abs. mag. |
Spectral type |
Distance (lt-yr) |
R.A. (h m s) | Dec. ( ° ' '' ) |
| Beta (Sadalsuud) | 2.90 | -3.47 | G0Ib | 612 | 21 31 33 | -05 34 16 |
| Alpha (Sadalmelik) | 2.95 | -3.88 | G2Ib | 759 | 22 05 47 | -00 19 11 |
| Delta (Skat) | 3.27 | -0.18 | A3V | 159 | 22 54 39 | -15 49 15 |
| Zeta | 3.65 | 1.14 | F6IV+F3V | 103 | 22 28 50 | -00 01 12 |
| c2 | 3.68 | -0.60 | K1III | 234 | 23 09 27 | -21 10 21 |
| Lambda | 3.73 | -1.67 | M2.5IIIaFe | 392 | 22 52 37 | -07 34 47 |
| Epsilon (Albali) | 3.78 | -0.46 | A1V | 230 | 20 47 40 | -09 29 45 |
| Gamma (Sadachbia) | 3.86 | 0.43 | A0V | 158 | 22 21 39 | -01 23 14 |
| b1 | 3.96 | 0.48 | K0III | 162 | 23 22 58 | -20 06 02 |
| Other objects of interest | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Type of Object | Notes |
| R Aqr | star | A symbiotic variable |
| V1344 Aqr | star | An X-ray jet variable |
| Helix Nebula | planetary nebula | NGC 7293. See separate entry |
| Saturn Nebula | planetary nebula | NGC 7009. See separate |
| M2 (NGC 7089) | globular cluster | On of the most impressive of its type; it appears in binoculars as a misty patch with a central concentration, and with a 15-cm telescope is partially resolved into stars. Magnitude 6.5, diameter 12.9', distance 37,500 light-years; R.A. 21h 31m, Dec. -01° 03' |
| M72 (NGC 6981) | globular cluster | A faint object in small telescopes. Magnitude 9.8, diameter 2', distance 55,400 light-years; R.A. 20h 52m, Dec. -12° 39' |
| Aquarius Dwarf | galaxy | See separate entry |
| Atoms for Peace Galaxy | galaxy | NGC 7252. See separate entry |
| Constellations |
| Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Bootes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Chamaeleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Austrina | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium | Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros | Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus | Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula |
Related categories
• NOTABLE STARS
• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
• GALAXIES
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