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Aquarius - The Water Bearer



Mythology - The Babylonians made Aquarius the ruler of this part of the sky which they saw as a heavenly "sea". He is associated with water, rain and floods around the world. In ancient Egypt when Aquarius set in the Nile it "caused" its flooding. The Greeks saw this constellation as the embodiment of Ganymede, a young boy promoted by Zeus to replace Hebe as his personal cup bearer.
Stars - although technically in Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish, observers in the far south of the UK may be able to see Fomalhaut twinkling on the horizon.
Deepsky - NGC 7009 or the Saturn Nebula is a fairly bright and compact planetary nebula. Binoculars show a fuzzy star-like object. A small telescope reveals twin lobes either side that resemble the rings of Saturn. The Helix Nebula (NGC7293) requires exceptionally clear skies to make out this large but dim
smoke ring. Better views will be gained by travelling further South. This is the nearest and largest planetary nebula lying at a distance of 450 ly. and is best observed with binoculars or a rich field telescope. M2 is a 6th mag. globular cluster while M72 is an open cluster, both are visible in binoculars.
Visibility - Aquarius is best seen in October.