An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Several → meteor showers that have their → radiants in the constellation → Aquarius. The main showers are:

1. Eta Aquarids,
   which occurs early in May and is apparently associated with → Halley’s comet, and
   
2. Delta Aquarids occurring in early August.

Etymology (EN): Aquarids, from → Aquarius constellation + → -ids suffix denoting “descendant of, belonging to the family of.”

Etymology (PE): Âbkašiyân, from Âbkaš + -iyân, → -ids.

Several → meteor showers that have their → radiants in the constellation → Aquarius. The main showers are:

1. Eta Aquarids,
   which occurs early in May and is apparently associated with → Halley’s comet, and
   
2. Delta Aquarids occurring in early August.

Etymology (EN): Aquarids, from → Aquarius constellation + → -ids suffix denoting “descendant of, belonging to the family of.”

Etymology (PE): Âbkašiyân, from Âbkaš + -iyân, → -ids.

The Water Bearer. An extended southern constellation composed of rather faint stars (R.A. about 23h, Dec. about -15 deg). One of the signs of the → Zodiac, it is surrounded by → Pegasus, → Equuleus, and → Delphinus to the north, → Aquila to the west, → Pisces Austrinus and → Sculptor to the south, and → Cetus to the east. Abbreviation: Aqr, genitive from: Aquarii.

Etymology (EN): Aquarius, L. “water carrier,” literally “of the water,” translation of Gk. Hydrokhoos “the water-pourer,” old Gk. name of this constellation.

Etymology (PE): Âbkeš “water carrier or drawer,” from âb “water” (Mid.Pers. âb “water;” O. Pers. ap- “water;” Av. ap- “water;” cf. Skt. áp- “water;”
Hitt. happa- “water;” PIE āp-, ab- “water, river;”
cf. Gk. Apidanos, proper noun, a river in Thessalia; L. amnis “stream, river” (from *abnis); O.Ir. ab “river;” O.Prus. ape “stream;” Lith. upé “stream;” Latv. upe “brook”)

• keš “drawer,” contraction of kešandé, from kešidan/kašidan “to carry, draw, extract, trail, drag” (Mid.Pers. kešidan “to draw, pull;” Av. karš- “to draw; to plough,” karša- “furrow;” cf. Skt. kars-, kársati “to pull, drag, plough,”
  Gk. pelo, pelomai “to be busy, to bustle;” PIE base k^wels- “to plow”).

The Water Bearer. An extended southern constellation composed of rather faint stars (R.A. about 23h, Dec. about -15 deg). One of the signs of the → Zodiac, it is surrounded by → Pegasus, → Equuleus, and → Delphinus to the north, → Aquila to the west, → Pisces Austrinus and → Sculptor to the south, and → Cetus to the east. Abbreviation: Aqr, genitive from: Aquarii.

Etymology (EN): Aquarius, L. “water carrier,” literally “of the water,” translation of Gk. Hydrokhoos “the water-pourer,” old Gk. name of this constellation.

Etymology (PE): Âbkeš “water carrier or drawer,” from âb “water” (Mid.Pers. âb “water;” O. Pers. ap- “water;” Av. ap- “water;” cf. Skt. áp- “water;”
Hitt. happa- “water;” PIE āp-, ab- “water, river;”
cf. Gk. Apidanos, proper noun, a river in Thessalia; L. amnis “stream, river” (from *abnis); O.Ir. ab “river;” O.Prus. ape “stream;” Lith. upé “stream;” Latv. upe “brook”)

• keš “drawer,” contraction of kešandé, from kešidan/kašidan “to carry, draw, extract, trail, drag” (Mid.Pers. kešidan “to draw, pull;” Av. karš- “to draw; to plough,” karša- “furrow;” cf. Skt. kars-, kársati “to pull, drag, plough,”
  Gk. pelo, pelomai “to be busy, to bustle;” PIE base k^wels- “to plow”).

The Eagle. A constellation on the celestial equator representing an eagle (R.A. about 19h30, Dec. about +5 deg). It is marked by the bright star → Altair (α Aquilae). Abbreviation: Aql, genitive form: Aquilae.

Etymology (EN): L. aquila “black eagle,” fem. of aquilus “dark colored” (bird).

Etymology (PE): Šâhin “eagle,” Av. saêna- “eagle,” Skt. śyená- “eagle, falcon, hawk”.

The Eagle. A constellation on the celestial equator representing an eagle (R.A. about 19h30, Dec. about +5 deg). It is marked by the bright star → Altair (α Aquilae). Abbreviation: Aql, genitive form: Aquilae.

Etymology (EN): L. aquila “black eagle,” fem. of aquilus “dark colored” (bird).

Etymology (PE): Šâhin “eagle,” Av. saêna- “eagle,” Skt. śyená- “eagle, falcon, hawk”.

A long, dark structure located close to the → Galactic plane and occupying an area between longitudes l ~15° and ~35° and latitudes b ± 10° in the constellations Aquila, Serpens, and eastern Ophiuchus. The Aquila Rift is a complex of dust and → molecular clouds making part of → Gould’s Belt in the → Orion Arm. The mass of the molecular gas, derived from → carbon monoxide (CO) observations (Dame et al. 2001, ApJ 547, 792), is in the range ~ 1-3 x 10⁵ → solar masses. A distance of ~260 pc has been estimated for the Aquila Rift, but it is uncertain. Recent Herschel observations have revealed a filamentary structure in the Aquila Rift and the presence of a population of → pre-stellar cores as well as
→ young stellar objects (André et al. 2010, A&A 518, L102; Bontemps et al. 2010, A&A 518, L85; Könyves et al. 2010, A&A 518, L106).

See also: → Aquila; → rift.

A long, dark structure located close to the → Galactic plane and occupying an area between longitudes l ~15° and ~35° and latitudes b ± 10° in the constellations Aquila, Serpens, and eastern Ophiuchus. The Aquila Rift is a complex of dust and → molecular clouds making part of → Gould’s Belt in the → Orion Arm. The mass of the molecular gas, derived from → carbon monoxide (CO) observations (Dame et al. 2001, ApJ 547, 792), is in the range ~ 1-3 x 10⁵ → solar masses. A distance of ~260 pc has been estimated for the Aquila Rift, but it is uncertain. Recent Herschel observations have revealed a filamentary structure in the Aquila Rift and the presence of a population of → pre-stellar cores as well as
→ young stellar objects (André et al. 2010, A&A 518, L102; Bontemps et al. 2010, A&A 518, L85; Könyves et al. 2010, A&A 518, L106).

See also: → Aquila; → rift.