Sagittarius constellation
Latin Sagittarius, genitive Sagittarii, abbreviation Sgr
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
A centaur with bow and arrow. Its bright stars form a teapot, low in the south in summer for northern observers. Behind it lies the centre of the Milky Way, some 26,000 light years away, where the band of stars is densest. At the December solstice the sun now stands in Sagittarius.
When can Sagittarius be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in August. It can be seen from everywhere south of 52°N, and it never sets south of 74°S.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaus Australis | ε Sgr | 1.85 | bluish |
| Nunki | σ Sgr | 2.02 | bluish |
| Ascella | ζ Sgr | 2.60 | white |
| Kaus Media | δ Sgr | 2.70 | orange |
| Kaus Borealis | λ Sgr | 2.81 | orange |
| Albaldah | π Sgr | 2.89 | yellowish white |
| Alnasl | γ2 Sgr | 2.99 | orange |
| Hamalwarid | η Sgr | 3.11 | reddish |
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).
Constellation and zodiac sign
The constellation Sagittarius and the zodiac sign of the same name are not the same. The signs divide the Sun's path into twelve equal parts of 30 degrees, counted from the vernal equinox; the constellations differ in size, and because the Earth's axis slowly wobbles, they now lie almost one sign further on.