Zeta Aquaris (Sadaltager/Demon Eyes) -- Double Star in Aquarius
Demon Eyes In The Night
Zeta Aquaris has the common name (Arabic) of Sadaltager which is loosely
translated as "Luck of the Merchant". This name was given to this star, located in
the center of the Water Jar Asterism in the constellation Aquarius, long before the
invention of the telescope. It is now referred to most often as the "Demon Eyes"
since it is a telescopic double-star, with each member having the same brightness.
This gives the appearance of bright-eyes shining in the darkness. With a separation
of only 2.3 arcseconds it requires reasonably high power and a steady atmosphere
to separate in a small telescope. I have separated the pair in as small as a 60mm
refractor on a good night, but it is much easier split with the 155mm refractor, as I
did for this drawing.
translated as "Luck of the Merchant". This name was given to this star, located in
the center of the Water Jar Asterism in the constellation Aquarius, long before the
invention of the telescope. It is now referred to most often as the "Demon Eyes"
since it is a telescopic double-star, with each member having the same brightness.
This gives the appearance of bright-eyes shining in the darkness. With a separation
of only 2.3 arcseconds it requires reasonably high power and a steady atmosphere
to separate in a small telescope. I have separated the pair in as small as a 60mm
refractor on a good night, but it is much easier split with the 155mm refractor, as I
did for this drawing.