Find it in the sky
Find the Y-shaped Water Jar: Sadachbia, Zeta Aquarii and Fenmu are among its stars. Between Capricornus and Pisces, in the south on October evenings.
Zodiac
Aquarius
Aquarius: the Helix Nebula, the nearest planetary nebula to us.
Best in October, around 9 p.m.No. 10 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Sadalsuud (magnitude 2.87)9 stars in this guide
The drawings on these maps are the game’s, and don’t show exact positions in the sky.
Legend
The Babylonians knew it as “the Great One”: the god Ea himself, holding an overflowing jar. In the Greek tale it is Ganymede, the handsome youth who poured the gods’ drink. Four of its stars draw a Y-shaped “Water Jar”.
Sign
20 January to 19 February. In the real sky the Sun passes in front of Aquarius from about 16 February to 12 March.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Albali
Epsilon Aquarii
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 244 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.77
- Name
- “The swallower” (Arabic)
A white star whose orange companion was found only in 2023.
Sadalsuud
Beta Aquarii
- Type
- Yellow supergiant
- Distance
- about 542 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.87
- Name
- “The luck of lucks” (Arabic)
Aquarius’s brightest: a yellow supergiant of five or six Suns’ mass and 48 times the Sun’s size.
Sadalmelik
Alpha Aquarii
- Type
- Yellow supergiant
- Distance
- about 691 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.94
- Name
- “The lucky one of the king” (Arabic)
A yellow supergiant about 70 times the Sun’s size.
Ancha
Theta Aquarii
- Type
- Yellow giant
- Distance
- about 191 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.18
- Name
- “The haunch”
A yellow giant about 12 times the Sun’s size.
Sadachbia
Gamma Aquarii
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 164 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.85
- Name
- “Luck of the homes (tents)” (Arabic)
A white star; a companion was found beside it in 2024.
Zeta Aquarii
Zeta Aquarii
- Type
- Yellow-white star
- Distance
- about 95 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.65
- Name
- No official name; known by the Greek letter zeta
One of the Water Jar’s stars; a triple system whose third star was first imaged in 2009.
Fenmu
Eta Aquarii
- Type
- Blue-white star
- Distance
- about 168 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.04
- Name
- “Tomb” (Chinese)
It spins so fast that its radius is 24% larger at the equator than at the poles.
Shatabhisha
Lambda Aquarii
- Type
- Red giant
- Distance
- about 365 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.57
- Name
- “A hundred physicians” (Indian astronomy)
A red giant of 3.6 Suns’ mass, swollen to 100 times the Sun’s size.
Skat
Delta Aquarii
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 113 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.28
- Name
- “The shin” (Arabic)
A white star; in 2017 a Sun-like companion was found close beside it.
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Sources: constellation areas follow the International Astronomical Union (IAU) boundaries; star values come from Wikipedia’s articles, based on Hipparcos and Gaia; the Sun’s dates come from EarthSky. Distances are rounded.