Aquarius (Water Carrier)

Ganymede, the son of the King Tros of Troy, was the most beautiful of the young men on Earth. Thus, the gods chose him to be the carrier of the golden goblet of the holy nectar of the gods, and also gave him the gift of eternal youth.

In later versions, Zeus –the king of the gods- fell in love with Ganymede, therefore he sequestered the boy and took him to the Olympus to make him his personal drink pourer. The kidnapping of Ganymede had a lot of repercussions in Mount Olympus. His arrival brought the displacement of Hebe –goddess of youth- and the rage of her mother Hera, who felt insulted and ashamed to know the feeling Zeus had for Ganymede. Hera’s reaction angered Zeus, who glorified Ganymede and gave him a place in the stars.

Aquarius is the eleventh zodiac asterism. The sun crosses this constellation during the months of February and March. It is a rather modest and inconspicuous constellation located at the south celestial Equator about 1000 squared degrees. It’s easy to locate because is between Fomalhaut at the south and the Great Quadrangle of Pegasus at the north. It limits to the north with Pisces, Pegasus, Equuleus and Delphinus; to the east with Aquila; to the south with Capricornus, Pisces Austrinus and Sculptor; and to the west with the constellation of Cetus.

Aquarius is situated 50° south to the galactic equator –close the the galactic south pole, where the constellation of Sculptor is located. We can see a low density of bright stars and star clusters, but it is posible to see globular clusters and galaxies.

We can see Aquarius by 9 p.m. in September and October.

The main stars forming Aquarius are:

• Sadalmelik: or Alpha Aquarii. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “luck of the king” (Al Sa'd al Malik).

• Sadalsuud: or Beta Aquarii. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “the luckiest of the lucky” or “luck of lucks”.

• Sadachbia: or Gamma Aquarii. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “luck of the homes (tents)”.

Aquarius represents a person pouring water from a jug.