For the week including January 21, 2011

Jupiter Larger Illustration

WHEN YOU WISH

After sunset the constellation of Aquarius, the Water Bearer is visible just above the southwestern horizon. The stars of Aquarius are not very bright, but the brilliant planet Jupiter is temporarily on hand to provide a guide. Aquarius also has five stars forming a recognizable pattern that makes this constellation easy to find. It’s this group of stars, (highlighted in red in our illustration) called the “Water Jar”, that led ancient astronomers to create the constellation. They look very much like a Greek amphora, a narrow-necked earthenware container, so legends evolved of Aquarius pouring celestial water from this jar out into the stars.

There’s another aspect of Aquarius though that really sets it apart from the other constellations. I remember some years ago, after one of my planetarium shows, a couple brought over their four-year old who wanted to discuss a point of procedural astronomy. She needed to know how to make a wish on a star. I explained that all she had to do was pick a star that she liked and make her wish. She didn’t have to worry, stars didn’t mind if they weren’t chosen; they had lots of people wishing on them all the time. She smiled and twirled away, tugging her parents toward the museum’s playroom. But, if it’s wishing stars or lucky stars that you’re looking for, Aquarius is really the place to go.

The astronomers of ancient Arabia established their stars of greatest good fortune in Aquarius and as their names suggest, there seemed to be enough magic for just about anyone. If you lost your car keys or wanted to solve the eternal mystery of what happens to socks when you do laundry, you would call on Gamma (γ) Aquarii. Its Arabic name, Sadachbia, means “The Lucky Star of Hidden Things”. Planning a trip to Vegas or want to get a jump on the folks who take a less scientific approach to lottery numbers? Don’t settle for second best, go to Beta (β) Aquarii, its Arabic designation, Sadalsuud, translates as “The Luckiest of the Lucky Stars”. Of course with all the radical adjustments to odds and chance that could be made by so many ordinary citizens, picking a Super Bowl winner might have gotten problematic. But, if you had the pull, you could apparently privatize some of the more dependable stars. Thus we come to Alpha (α) Aquarii that marks the base of the Water Jar. Its name, Sadalmelik, is derived from the Arabic for “The Lucky One of the King”. At the left side of the constellation, Delta (δ) Aquarii was apparently good for general use. Its name, Skat, refers to it being simply a “Wishing Star”.

If you have a telescope, be sure to check out Jupiter as well. Shown in the NASA photograph at upper left, Jupiter will be easy to find. It’s the biggest, brightest object in that part of the sky. The reason why Jupiter looks larger than the stars around it has to do with its size. The gas-giant Jupiter is 88,730 miles in diameter, so immense that all of the other planets in the solar system could fit inside it. If we were to take our solar system as a whole, the Sun would represent about 98% of its mass. Jupiter, by itself, would represent half of what’s leftover.

Unless otherwise indicated, all content of this web site is the copyright of Robert Deegan and all rights are reserved.