Aquarius is one of the constellations of the zodiac and belongs to the 88 modern constellations.

According to the tropical astrology the Sun resides in Aquarius from January 20 to February 18, while in the sidereal astrology is it said to transit it from February 15 to March 14. Astrologically, this is associated with the planet Uranus.

The constellation’s name comes from the Latin for water carrier and was first depicted on early Babylonian stones as a boy pouring water from a vase. It was first described by Ptolemy.

This constellation from the Northern Hemisphere lies between Capricorn to the east and Pisces to the west.

Dimensions: 980 square degrees.

Rank: 10th

Brightness: This is a quite faint constellation and its stars produce a water drop like effect.

History: The constellation’s name comes from the Latin for water bearer and was first depicted on early Babylonian stones as a boy pouring water from a vase.

It represents the god Ea, an overflowing vase. The Arabs depicted it as a mule carrying two water barrels. Ancient Egyptians associated it with the annual flood of the Nile in spring. Greek mythology depicted it as a simple vase that poured water towards Pisces.

Stars: Aquarius does not have some special bright stars as the four most powerful only have magnitudes of 2. Examples of stars include Sadalmelik (alpha Aquarii), Sadalsuud (beta Aquarii), Sadachbia(gamma Aquarii) and Albali( epsilon Aquarii).

Planetary systems: This constellation has eleven exoplanet systems, including Gliese 876 or 91 Aquarii.

Galaxies: Aquarius has plenty of galaxies, globar clusters and planetary nebulae, sush as the famous Helix Nebula.

Meteor showers: Aquarius has some radiant meteors such as Eta Aquariids, Delta Aquariids and Iota Aquariids. The Eta Aquariids is the most powerful and occurs from April 21 to May 12. This one also has fireballs around the peak. The Iota Aquariids is fairly weak and peaks on 6 August, with a rate of 8 meteors per hour.