Sagitta constellation
Latin Sagitta, genitive Sagittae, abbreviation Sge
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
The arrow: in one telling the one Heracles shot the eagle with that fed on Prometheus' liver. Four stars between the Eagle and the Swan, small but easy to spot.
When can Sagitta be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in August. It can be seen from everywhere north of 62°S, and it never sets north of 73°N.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | γ Sge | 3.47 | reddish |
| – | δ Sge | 3.82 | reddish |
| Sham | α Sge | 4.37 | yellow |
| – | β Sge | 4.37 | orange |
| – | ζ Sge | 5.00 | white |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).