AQUARIUS

The constellation Aquarius
The constellation Aquarius
Till Credner - Own work, AlltheSky, CC BY-SA 3.0, wikimedia
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Map of the constellation Aquarius
Aquarius_constellation_map.png: Torsten Bronger derivative work: Kxx (talk) - Aquarius_constellation_map.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, wikimedia

Aquarius is not a very bright constellation of the zodiac visible in boreal skies at the end of summer, between Capricorn and Pisces, which are also not very bright constellations, located to the west and to the east of Aquarius.

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Aquarius and his water jug from Vorstellung der Gestirne (1782) by Johann Bode.
Public domain, wikimedia

For many, Aquarius recalls the myth of Ganimede, the cup bearer for the Olympian gods, who is kidnapped by Zeus. In the skies he is seen as a youth pouring water from a pitcher toward the constellation Austral Pisces represented by the star Fomalhaut.

Sadalmelik: is the alpha star, even though it is the second brightest star in the constellation. It is a rare example of a yellow supergiant which is 525 light-years from the Earth. It is 3,000 times brighter than the Sun.

Sadalsuud: is the beta star, but in fact it is the brightest star in the constellation. It, too, is a yellow supergiant, which means it is in a phase of transition to become a red supergiant. It is about 540 light-years from us.

The constellation is rich in deep sky objects, two in particular are: the globular cluster M2 and the Helix Nebula.

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M2 cluster
This image is from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) project.
here it says: "The images and image mosaics in the various Galleries are released into the public domain. 2MASS kindly requests acknowledgement in one of the following forms, the longer of which is preferred." Atlas Image [or Atlas Image mosaic] obtained as part of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation. Atlas Image [or Atlas Image mosaic] courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF., Public domain, wikimedia

M2 is a big globular cluster, easy to see because it’s a little north of the line that joins the alpha and beta stars. It is 33,000 light-years from us and is thought to be made up of more than 150,000 stars.

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The Helix Nebula
The HST data are from proposal 9700. Processed images may be obtained from the Helix MAST web site.
The Hubble Helix Team includes M. Meixner, H.E. Bond, G. Chapman (STScI), Y.-H. Chu (U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), P. Cox (Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, France), W. Crothers, L.M. Frattare, R.Gilliland (STScI), M. Guerrero R. Gruendl (U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), F. Hamilton, (STScI), R.Hook (STScI/ESO), P. Huggins (New York Univ.), I. Jordan, C.D. Keyes, A. Koekemoer (STScI), K.Kwitter (Williams College), Z.G. Levay, P.R. McCullough, M. Mutchler, K. Noll (STScI), C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), N. Panagia, M. Reinhart, M. Robberto, K. Sahu, D. Soderblom, L. Stanghellini, C. Tyler, J. Valenti, A. Welty, R. Williams (STScI).
The CTIO data were taken by C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University) and L.M. Frattare (STScI). The science team includes C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), P.R. McCullough and M. Meixner (STScI).
Credit: NASA, ESA, and C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University)News Release Number: STScI-2004-32 - Image, complementary information, Public domain, wikimedia

NGC 7293 is the Helix Nebula that is, the gaseous residue of the final phases of evolution of a red giant which turned into a white dwarf. Thanks to the spectacular images of the Hubble Telescope it has been nicknamed the ‘The Eye of God’. It lies about 650 light-years from the Earth and its clearly defined dimensions are similar to a full Moon, but not as bright. In fact, it is hard to see with the naked eye and even with a telescope.

Northern Hemisphere: Aquarius is visible in the early evening from August to December. Look for the 4 stars of Urna, an asterism which looks like the Mercedes-Benz logo, a feature which sets the constellation apart from others. The best time to see it is right after sunset at the end of October when it is low on the southern horizon.

Southern Hemisphere: Aquarius is easier to see in the Southern Hemisphere at the same time of the year as in the Northern Hemisphere. At the southern middle latitudes at the end of October right after sunset we find it high on the northern horizon.