One of the zodiac constellations, Sagittarius is situated in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the eighty-eight contemporary constellations and one of the forty-eight that Claudius Ptolemy, an astronomer from the second century, listed. Sagittarius is the earliest known astrological symbol (♐︎). Latin roots give it the name "archer." The typical image of Sagittarius is a centaur drawing back a bow. It is situated between Capricornus and Microscopium in the east and Scorpius and Ophiuchus in the west.
The westernmost portion of Sagittarius contains the Milky Way's central region.
The westernmost portion of Sagittarius contains the Milky Way's central region.
Visualizations
The brightest stars of the constellation form an instantly recognisable asterism known as "the Teapot" when viewed from the northern hemisphere. (McClure 2017) The pot's body is made up of the stars δ Sgr (Kaus Media), ε Sgr (Kaus Australis), ζ Sgr (Ascella), and φ Sgr; the point of the lid is made up of λ Sgr (Kaus Borealis); the spout's tip is made up of γ2 Sgr (Alnasl), and the handle is made up of σ Sgr (Nunki) and τ Sgr. The bow and arrow of Sagittarius were originally constructed from these identical stars. The brilliant star Ascella in the constellation Zeta Sagittarii (ζ Sgr) and the fainter Tau Sagittarii (τ Sgr) mark the bottom of the teapot's "handle" (or the archer's shoulder region). A particularly dense region of the Milky Way may be seen rising in a northwestern arc above the spout, like a puff of steam rising from a boiling kettle, to complete the teapot metaphor. |
The fainter stars form the shape of the horse's body, giving the constellation's overall appearance the rough image of a stick-figure archer drawing its bow. The crimson star Antares, which represents the centre of Scorpius, is the target of Sagittarius' fabled arrow as the two constellations circle the sky. Nearly immediately Antares is reached by following the direct line made by Delta Sagittarii (δ Sgr) and Gamma2 Sagittarii (γ2 Sgr). Gamma2 Sagittarii is appropriately referred to as Alnasl, the Arabic word for "arrowhead," and Kaus Media, the "middle of the bow," from which the arrow protrudes, respectively. (Ridpath 2018)
Sagittarius is one of the most noticeable constellations in the northern hemisphere's summer skies, yet it can be challenging to spot in Europe north of the Pyrenees since it drags so low along the horizon. It is completely invisible in Scotland and Scandinavia. Sagittarius is straight above in southern Brazil, South Africa, and central Australia (30° south). It is where the Sun is at the December solstice, although it is obscured by the Sun's brightness from mid-November to mid-January. Sagittarius rises at midnight by March. It gains opponents in June and becomes widely visible. The full moon in Sagittarius occurs in June.
The Sun was in Capricorn for the December solstice in classical antiquity, but by the time of the Roman Empire, this had changed to Sagittarius due to the precession of the equinoxes. The Sun will be in Scorpius at the December solstice in about 2700 AD.
Sagittarius is one of the most noticeable constellations in the northern hemisphere's summer skies, yet it can be challenging to spot in Europe north of the Pyrenees since it drags so low along the horizon. It is completely invisible in Scotland and Scandinavia. Sagittarius is straight above in southern Brazil, South Africa, and central Australia (30° south). It is where the Sun is at the December solstice, although it is obscured by the Sun's brightness from mid-November to mid-January. Sagittarius rises at midnight by March. It gains opponents in June and becomes widely visible. The full moon in Sagittarius occurs in June.
The Sun was in Capricorn for the December solstice in classical antiquity, but by the time of the Roman Empire, this had changed to Sagittarius due to the precession of the equinoxes. The Sun will be in Scorpius at the December solstice in about 2700 AD.
Mythology
The god Nergal, who resembled a centaur and shot arrows from a bow, was identified by the Babylonians as Sagittarius. It is frequently seen with wings, two heads—one panther head and one human head—and a scorpion's stinger rising above the horse's tail that is most typically depicted as its tail. The two parts that make up the Sumerian name Pabilsag are Pabil, which means "older paternal kinsman," and Sag, which means "chief, head." As a result, the name might be interpreted as "Forefather" or "Chief Ancestor." (White 2008) The figure is evocative of contemporary images of Sagittarius.
The god Nergal, who resembled a centaur and shot arrows from a bow, was identified by the Babylonians as Sagittarius. It is frequently seen with wings, two heads—one panther head and one human head—and a scorpion's stinger rising above the horse's tail that is most typically depicted as its tail. The two parts that make up the Sumerian name Pabilsag are Pabil, which means "older paternal kinsman," and Sag, which means "chief, head." As a result, the name might be interpreted as "Forefather" or "Chief Ancestor." (White 2008) The figure is evocative of contemporary images of Sagittarius.
Greek Mythology
Sagittarius is typically depicted in Greek mythology as a centaur, a creature that is a half human and half horse. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the identity of the archer, probably because the Greeks adopted the Sumerian constellation. (Ridpath 2018) Some people link the sign of Sagittarius to the centaur Chiron, son of Philyra and Cronus, who is claimed to have transformed into a horse to elude his envious wife Rhea and served as Jason's tutor. Some people mistakenly associate Chiron with the second centaur constellation, Centaurus, since there are two of them in the sky. (Ridpath 2018) Or, according to a different legend, Chiron created the constellations Centaurus and Sagittarius to aid the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. (Allen 1899) As advocated by Eratosthenes, a rival legendary story identified the Archer as the satyr Crotus, son of Pan, who the Greeks credited with creating archery, rather than a centaur. (Ridpath 2018) According to folklore, Crotus frequently rode his horse for hunting and lived among the Muses, who asked Zeus to erect him in the sky where he might be seen practising archery. (Ridpath 2018) |
This constellation's arrow points to Antares, sometimes known as the "heart of the scorpion," and Sagittarius is ready to strike should Scorpius ever attack Hercules nearby or exact revenge for Scorpius's killing of Orion. (Milton 2004)
Deep-sky Objects
Main stars - 12
Bayer stars - 68
Stars with planets - 32
Stars brighter than Magnitude 3.00 - 7
Stars within 32 Ly - 3
Messier objects - 15
Bordering
constellations
- The Milky Way's brightest visible section is the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud. It is the innermost galactic structure that can be seen in visible wavelengths and is a part of the galaxy's central bulge that can be seen around the dense dust of the Great Rift. It has multiple black nebulae that are overlaid and embedded clusters. (Crossen 2013)
- The apparent magnitude of the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, often known as Messier 24, is 2.5. The cloud extends from a depth of 10,000 to 16,000 light-years into a substantial region of space. NGC 6603, a tiny but incredibly dense star cluster, is embedded in M24. Additionally, nearby are Barnard 92, a Bok globule, and NGC 6567, a faint planetary nebula. (Levy 2005)
- Messier 8 (M8) – Lagoon Nebula – Emission Nebula
- Messier 17 (M17) – Omega Nebula – Emission Nebula
- Messier 18 (M18) - Open Cluster
- Messier 20 (M20) – Trifid Nebula – Emission Nebula
- Messier 21 (M21) - Open Cluster
- Messier 22 (M22) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 23 (M23) - Open Cluster
- Messier 24 (M24) – Small Sagittarius star cloud
- Messier 25 (M25) - Open Cluster
- Messier 28 (M28) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 54 (M54) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 55 (M55) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 69 (M69) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 70 (M70) – Globular Cluster
- Messier 75 (M75) – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6440 - Globular Cluster
- NGC 6445 – Planetary Nebula
- NGC 6520 – Open Cluster
- NGC 6522 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6528 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6537 – Red Spider Nebula – Planetary Nebula
- NGC 6544 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6559 – Emission Nebula
- NGC 6569 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6624 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6638 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6652 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6716 – Open Cluster
- NGC 6723 – Globular Cluster
- NGC 6822 – Barred Irregular Galaxy
- NGC 6822 – Emission nebula based in the galaxy above
Main stars - 12
Bayer stars - 68
Stars with planets - 32
Stars brighter than Magnitude 3.00 - 7
Stars within 32 Ly - 3
Messier objects - 15
Bordering
constellations
- Aquila
- Scutum
- Serpens Cauda
- Ophiuchus
- Scorpius
- Corona Australis
- Telescopium
- Indus
- Microscopium
- Capricornus