kids encyclopedia robot

Aquarius (constellation) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Abbreviation Aqr
Genitive Aquarii
Pronunciation genitive
Symbolism the Water-Bearer
Right ascension 23
Declination −15
Quadrant SQ4
Area 980 sq. deg. (10th)
Main stars 10, 22
Stars with planets 11
Stars brighter than 3.00m 2
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) 7
Brightest star β Aqr (Sadalsuud) (2.91m)
Nearest star EZ Aqr
(11.27 ly, 3.45 pc)
Messier objects 3
Meteor showers March Aquariids
Eta Aquariids
Delta Aquariids
Iota Aquariids
Piscis Austrinus
Visible at latitudes between +65° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of October.
Aquarius IAU
Map of the constellation

Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac. It sits between Capricornus and Pisces. Its name is Latin for "water-carrier" or "cup-carrier", and its symbol is Two wavy, parallel lines (Unicode ♒), which represents water. The astronomer Ptolemy listed Aquarius when he made a list of 48 constellations. It is also one of the 88 modern constellations.

Aquarius is a constellation also known as the Water Bearer and was a servant to the gods. He was also a human at one time. He was the son of King Tors. When he was human, his name was Ganymede. Usually when you see him in the sky, you can see him pouring water into the mouth of a fish; or Pisces.

There is a story of Ganymede when he was watching over his father’s sheep, he was captured and held captive by the Goddess of the Dawn.

In another version of the story, Zeus is captured by Ganymede. Than Zeus calls over his pet eagle to grab Ganymede and take him to the top of Mount Olympus and serve as a servant to the gods.

One man named Robert Graves thought that the origin of Aquarius was in Egypt. He thought that Aquarius represented the Nile River. He also thought that Aquarius was the God of the Nile. The Nile is just a river, but Robert thought that the river was water pouring out of Aquarius’ jar to make the Nile.

As a constellation, he comes after the constellation Capricornus just by one month and is south of the constellation Pegasus and north of Pisces, the brightest star in the night sky.

Deep-sky objects

Helix Nebula
Saturn Nebula

Images for kids

kids search engine
Aquarius (constellation) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.