National Research Council Canada
www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Institutional links
Aquarius
Information found on this page has been archived and is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. Please visit NRC's new site for the most recent information.
Archived Content
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats by contacting us.
Constellations Visible in Canadian Skies
Select a constellation from the list below to learn more:
Aquarius
Aquila
Aries
Auriga
Boötes
Cancer
Canis Major
Canis Minor
Capricornus
Cassiopeia
Cygnus
Gemini
Hercules
Hydra
Libra
Leo
Lyra
Orion
Perseus
Pisces
Sagittarius
Scorpius
Taurus
Ursa Minor and Ursa Major
Virgo
Legend
To the Babylonians, Aquarius was the ruler of all the watery constellations — Pisces, Capricornus, Piscis Austrinus and Cetus. To the Egyptians, Aquarius caused the yearly flooding of the river Nile. The Greeks personified Aquarius, drawing him as a young man pouring water from a pitcher. They were probably thinking of Ganymede, a beautiful young man who was carried off by an eagle to become the cupbearer to the gods.
If you have very good eyes and a very dark sky, you might just make out a faint, fuzzy blob above Sadalmelik and Sadalsuud — "the two brightest stars in Aquarius. This 'fuzzy blob' is M2, one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky. Even a small pair of binoculars will make it quite easy to find, if you know where to look.
