The constellation Sagittarius is located between Scorpio and Capricorn. It is interesting because it contains the center of the Galaxy. Also in this large zodiac constellation is the winter solstice point. Sagittarius includes many stars. Some of them are quite bright. This constellation occupies a large area in the night sky. Many myths and legends are associated with it. At school, constellations are studied as part of the course "Astronomy" (Grade 11). But the curriculum is limited. And lovers of celestial bodies always want to get more knowledge not only about constellations, but also about nebulae and galaxies associated with them.
Sagittarius constellation
Sagittarius is undoubtedly one of the most amazing and interesting constellations in the night sky. It is in it that the center of our galaxy is located, approximately 30 thousand light years away. It is hidden behind clouds of interstellar dust. Of course, it is impossible to call the stars of the Sagittarius constellation the brightest in the sky, butyet some of them reach visual magnitude 2.0 and are clearly visible in the sky.
Sagittarius is considered to be the most beautiful part of the Milky Way. Here, even with field glasses, globular clusters and nebulae are visible. The most interesting and, of course, beautiful of them are the Lagoon and Omega nebulae (sometimes called the Cygnus), as well as the recently discovered M20. Scientists have proven that there is even a black hole in the constellation Sagittarius, according to astrophysicists, it is located in the center of our Galaxy.
So, it's easy to find the constellation Sagittarius in the sky. Photos taken with the help of powerful telescopes help to discover what is not visible to the naked eye. In the northeastern part of the constellation, at good magnification, a dwarf galaxy can be seen. It is located near the Milky Way. The distance to this misty, irregular galaxy is about 1.7 million light-years. By the way, it was discovered back in 1884 by scientist E. Barnard.
It is natural that all objects in the constellation Sagittarius are at different distances from the solar system. The closest star, Ros 154, is only 9.69 light years away. And this is relatively close by space standards. So, we can say that this is our neighbor.
Sagittarius constellation in the sky
This constellation is clearly visible in the night sky during the summer. It appears from the second decade of February, and it can be observed until November. The best conditions for observations are the summer months. Then it disappears. The Sun is in Sagittarius from December 18 to January 18. Highlyan interesting fact: it was from the side of the constellation Sagittarius on August 15, 1977 that the world-famous “Wow!” signal was received. - presumably from an alien civilization.
Constellation myths
The constellation Sagittarius is associated with two famous centaurs in mythology: Krotos and Chiron. In almost all atlases of the starry sky at all times, it was conveyed by a drawing, which depicted a creature with the torso of a man and the body of a horse. In this form, it was also included in the catalog of Claudius Ptolemy "Almagest".
The most famous Greek myth about the constellation Sagittarius connects it with the wise Chiron, the teacher and mentor of many heroes. It was believed that it was this centaur who invented the celestial globe specifically for the Argonauts' journey. On it, he left a plot for himself. It is easy to guess that this is the constellation Sagittarius, since this centaur shot perfectly from a bow. But the unexpected happened: the cunning Krotos got ahead of him and took his place. Well, Chiron had to settle for the less honorable constellation Centaurus.
The constellation Sagittarius was included in the "Collection of Svyatoslav" back in 1073. It was known to the Slavic tribes by its modern name.
Lagoon Nebula
The constellation Sagittarius keeps many cosmic secrets. Photos taken with the telescope helped to study in detail the Lagoon Nebula, which is located in it. It can rightfully be considered a landmark of the summer sky. For those who like to watchstars, this nebula might seem like a very interesting object. You can see it even with binoculars.
The Lagoon Nebula is the cradle of stars. It is a star-forming collection of cosmic dust. It is oval in shape with a clearly visible center. The nebula contains a cluster of stars, making it one of the most beautiful objects in the summer night sky. It is 5200 light years away from the solar system. Contains globules - dark clouds of stellar material.
M20 Nebula
Of course, not only the stars in the constellations are of interest to astronomy lovers. Very interesting and nebulae. There are several of them in the constellation Sagittarius. But one of the most beautiful is undoubtedly the M20 nebula. This is the most interesting object to observe on a summer night, however, it can be seen in telescopes of medium and large apertures.
The first thing that attracts attention is a few stars in the center of the brightest part of the nebula. Then it becomes noticeable that this object is, as it were, “torn apart”. A black hole is visible, dividing the nebula into two parts. This dark area is shaped like a "T". With a good magnification, you can see that the nebula consists of three parts. And next to it is another dimmer object.
Thus, the M20 nebula is represented by three main types of stasis: pink (emissive), black (absorbing) and blue (reflecting).
Sagittarius Alpha
The stars of the constellation Sagittarius are not very bright. This is probably why it is not very popular among lovers of the night sky. What is interesting about this constellation is thatalpha is not the brightest star. But still it is visible and has its own name.
Rukbat is a blue and white star. Her name means "knee" in Arabic. This is the alpha of Sagittarius. From the solar system to the star Rukbat is approximately 71.4 parsecs. In the picture, it is on the front left leg at the knee. From here it got its name. In brightness, alpha Sagittarius is significantly inferior to the star Kaus Australis.
Star Kaus Australis
The brightest star in the constellation is upsilon Sagittarius. The apparent brilliance of Kaus Australis is 1.79, which corresponds to the brilliance of the stars in the "dipper" of Ursa Major. It is highly visible to the naked eye and easy to spot in the night sky. The secret of such a bright glow was revealed by scientists in the middle of the twentieth century. A detailed study of upsilon Sagittarius revealed that it is a double star.
Kaus Australis is translated as "the southern part of the bow", which reflects its position in the constellation drawing. It is the southernmost and brightest star in the bow of Sagittarius, which consists of three objects. Onions form, in addition to Kaus Australis, two more stars. Astronomy is both an exact and a creative science, therefore, in addition to official names, objects in the night sky also have personal names. Lambda and Beta Sagittarius are called Kaus Borealis and Kaus Meridionalis, respectively. Together with the upsilon, they form the "bow".
Triple star in the constellation Sagittarius
There are different stars in the constellation Sagittarius. Astronomy has data on supergiants anddwarfs. But special attention is always paid by astrophysicists to triple stars. They are very rare and therefore of interest. In the constellation Sagittarius there is a triple star - this is Albaldach. It is approximately 508 light-years away from the solar system. It is entered into star catalogs under the designation "pi Sagittarius".
Albaldach is a very bright star. It is clearly visible to the naked eye, so it has been known since ancient times. The name was given to her by Arab astronomers, who drew attention to her even before our era. From ancient Arabic, the word "Albaldakh" is translated as "city". Perhaps they already knew that it was not one, but three stars, which would explain such a name. But no confirmation of this fact was found.
Pi Sagittarius is a system of three stars. The main one is a yellow-white giant. Its surface temperature is approximately 6590 kelvins. It is also interesting that the luminosity of this giant exceeds the solar one by a thousand times. The star is at that stage of evolution when gravity and its internal pressure lose stability. The yellow-white giant begins to expand and contract. Almost nothing is known about the satellites of Albaldach. The nature of these stars has yet to be revealed.
Sagittarius Gamma
The constellation of Sagittarius includes many more giant stars. However, not all of them are clearly visible to the naked eye. But not Alnasl. This star is located at a distance of 96 light years from the solar system.
Gamma Sagittarius is clearly visible in the sky on moonless nights. Therefore sheknown to scientists since ancient times. It is also unique in that it has not one, but two Arabic names. The first is "Alnasl", which translates as "arrowhead". The second name of the star, "Nushbada", oddly enough, has the same meaning.
In terms of physical characteristics, Alnasl is an orange giant. Its surface temperature is approximately 4760 kelvins. Whether the star has satellites of the planet, like our Sun, has not been established. So far, no signs of their presence have been found.
Star Sefdar is Sagittarius
This is a binary star, located at a distance of approximately 146 light years from the Sun. This Sagittarius has two names: the Arabic "Sefdar" ("Furious Warrior") and the Latin "Ira Furoris" ("Flaming Fury"). Until 1928, it was part of the constellation Telescope. Later, when the boundaries were revised, she was assigned to Sagittarius.
