Ganymede was quite the object of desire.

In Greek mythology, this young shepherd was seen by the great god Zeus tending to his flock on the mountains outside of the city of Troy. Zeus was smitten, and turned himself into an eagle in order to snatch the young man. He brought him to Olympus to become the water bearer of the gods.

Unfortunately, Hebe, the daughter of Zeus, already had that job. Showing no loyalty to his offspring, Zeus created a competition between the two in order to determine who would have the prestigious position of keeping the gods hydrated. In the end, Ganymede won and became cupbearer and companion to Zeus.

To honor the events and Ganymede’s win, Zeus put him in the sky for eternity in the form of a constellation. His star cluster is Aquarius, the water carrier, which resides next to Zeus in the form of the eagle. (Ganymede is also the name of the largest satellite of the planet Jupiter, and is the largest moon in the solar system — it is larger than both Mercury and Pluto, and only slightly smaller than Mars. Appropriately enough, it is believed to possess both liquid water and ice.)

As a member of the zodiac, Aquarius is one of a group of constellations that the sun travels through each year. Though it can be seen now, fall, especially October, is the best time to view it. This constellation can be a challenge to observe because the stars that make it up are not especially bright.

Look to the southern sky for this faint feature of the night. It is represented by a series of stars that look more like a shaky lasso to me than a man pouring water. But who can argue with Ptolemy? In the 2nd century AD he described this constellation, making it one of the oldest ones named in the western world.

Other cultures see something different in Aquarius. Babylonians called this constellation “the Great One,” believing it was the God Ea himself. Aquarius also had some negative connotations for the Babylonians and Egyptians, since it was associated with floods and the deluge that wiped out most of humanity. Their flood stories bear remarkable similarities to the biblical story of the Ark.

Easier to see than Aquarius is the brighter star Fomalhaut (the loneliest star), which is part of Piscis Austrinus, or the southern fish. It appears that water from the vessel falls into the mouth of that fish.

Aquarius’s location is easier to pinpoint than its faint stars. It is between Capricornus (Capricorn) and Pisces and surrounded by other water-loving creatures, including Cetus the whale and the aforementioned Piscis Austrinus.  This area of the sky has been called “the sea” because of this oceanic constellation concentration.

The two brightest stars in the dim grouping of Aquarius are Sadalmelik and Sadalsuud, translated from Arabic respectively into “the lucky king of the stars,” and “the luckiest of the lucky stars.” But neither is lucky enough to be seen! A really dark night will help, as it is the best time to try to spot Aquarius. So while Zeus meant to honor Ganymede by placing him in the heavens, due to the low luminosity of its individual stars, this could be called faint praise.

Even if you don’t catch a glimpse of this elusive star cluster, be assured that it is there in the night sky. While we don’t know exactly the age of Aquarius, humans have observed it for millennia, and stories about it have been passed down the generations. That, I can promise you, is no myth.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.