Zeta Aquarii
star system in constellation of Aquarius
Zeta Aquarii is a triple star system, the central star of the "water jar" asterism in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. Its identifier is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ζ Aquarii, and abbreviated Zet Aqr or ζ Aqr, respectively. The combined apparent visual magnitude of this system is 3.65, which is readily visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements yield a distance estimate of around 95 light-years (29 parsecs) from Earth.
Etymology
In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, this star was designated Achr al Achbiya (آخر ألأخبية - ākhir al-akhbiya), which was translated into Latin as Postrema Tabernaculorum, meaning the end of luck of the homes (tents). This star, along with γ Aqr (Sadachbia), π Aqr and η Aqr (Fenmu), were al-Akḣbiya (الأخبية), the Tents.
In Chinese, 墳墓 (Fén Mù), meaning Tomb, refers to an asterism consisting of ζ Aquarii, γ Aquarii, η Aquarii and π Aquarii. Consequently, the Chinese name for ζ Aquarii itself is 墳墓一 (Fén Mù yī, English: the First Star of Tomb.)
Properties
Orbits
The two stars have an orbital period of about 587 years. The semimajor axis is 3.8 arcseconds and they have an orbital eccentricity of 0.40. The orbital plane is inclined by 138.2° to the plane of the sky.
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