Aquarius (Water Carrier) - Aquarius

Japanese: みずがめ座(水瓶座) - みずがめざ（英語表記）Aquarius

Its abbreviation is Aqr. It is one of the twelve zodiacal constellations and can be seen in the autumn night sky. In Greek mythology, the constellation represents the handsome young Trojan prince Ganymede, beloved by the chief god Zeus, who is depicted carrying a water jar on his shoulder during drinking parties. In ancient Babylonia, the season when the sun enters this constellation marks the rainy season, so it is said that a constellation related to water was created. The most visible parts of the constellation are the four fourth magnitude stars (γ, ζ, η, π) on the northern edge, which form three arrow shapes with the star ζ at the center, but the number of bright stars is small in proportion to the wide area of the sky, making the shape of the constellation difficult to discern.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

略号はAqr。黄道十二星座の一つで，秋の夜空に見える。星座はギリシア神話で主神ゼウスに愛されたトロイアの王子，美少年ガニュメデスの姿で，酒宴にはべり水瓶を肩に描かれる。古代バビロニアでは，太陽がこの星座に入る季節は雨季をむかえるので，水に関係のある星座がつくられたという。星座で目につくのは北辺にある4個の4等星(γ,ζ,η,π)でζ星を中心に3本の矢形を描くが，広い天域を占める割合には輝星が少ないので，星座の形はとらえにくい。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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