Sagittarius (The Archer) Constellation

Altitude: -39.7° Azimuth: 276.4° Direction: West

Sagittarius (pronounced sædʒɪˈtɛəriəs) is the Latin name of a large constellation (in fact it extends itself for about 46 degrees across the sky) situated south of the celestial equator. As such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere.

In English language this constellation is also known as "The Archer" while in astronomical texts and literature this constellation is often abbreviated as "Sgr" (according to the standard of the International Astronomical Union - IAU) or as "Sgtr" (according to a naming convention used by NASA).

The Latin genitive of the constellation name is "Sagittarii" (pronounced ˌsædʒəˈtɛəriaɪ) and it is used to identify some of the brightest stars in this constellation based on the Bayer or Flamsteed star naming convention. For instance: α Sagittarii (the brightest star of Sagittarius based on the Bayer catalog); or 23 Sagittarii (the 23th star in the constellation of Sagittarius based on the Flamsteed catalog).

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Sagittarius is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Available Resources for Sagittarius

Sky chart of Sagittarius
Check the visibility of Sagittarius from your location
Top brightest stars in Sagittarius. See also the complete list of stars in Sagittarius brighter than magnitude 6.5.
Top deep sky objects in Sagittarius. See also the complete list of Messier, NGC and IC objects in Sagittarius.

Sky Chart of Sagittarius Constellation

Here we provide a simplified sky chart of the Sagittarius constellation. Alternatively it is possible to locate Sagittarius in the night sky using our Online Interactive Planetarium.

This constellation image is derivatve work based on original work by IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) CC-BY-3.0.

Visibility of Sagittarius Constellation

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Sagittarius rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.6° RISE 23:46

Max altitude: 12.0° TRANSIT 3:13

Azimuth: 243.4° SET 6:36

RIGHT NOW Sagittarius is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

The rise and set times provided here are just directional indications and they refer to a point approximately placed at the center of the constellation. In case of very large constellations (like Sagittarius actually is) these times can have little relevance.

Bright Stars in Sagittarius Constellation

The table below lists the top 20 brightest stars in the Sagittarius constellation. See also the complete list of 217 stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 (approximate) in the constellation of Sagittarius. Click on each star to see more details about it.

	HR Number(*)	Star designation	Proper name	Visual magnitude	Color	Notes
	HR6879	ε Sagittarii	Kaus Australis	1.85	⬤	Double;
	HR7121	σ Sagittarii	Nunki	2.02	⬤	Double;
	HR7194	ζ Sagittarii	Ascella	2.6	⬤	Multiple;
	HR6859	δ Sagittarii	Kaus Media	2.7	⬤	Multiple;
	HR6913	λ Sagittarii	Kaus Borealis	2.81	⬤
	HR7264	π Sagittarii	Albaldah	2.89	⬤	Variable; Multiple;
	HR6746	γ2 Sagittarii	Alnasl	2.99	⬤	Variable;
	HR6832	η Sagittarii		3.11	⬤	Variable; Multiple;
	HR7039	φ Sagittarii		3.17	⬤	Double;
	HR7234	τ Sagittarii		3.32	⬤
	HR7150	ξ2 Sagittarii		3.51	⬤
	HR7217	ο Sagittarii		3.77	⬤	Variable; Double;
	HR6812	μ Sagittarii	Polis	3.86	⬤	Variable; Multiple;
	HR7340	ρ1 Sagittarii		3.93	⬤	Variable;
	HR7348	α Sagittarii	Rukbat	3.97	⬤
	HR7337	β1 Sagittarii	Arkab Prior	4.01	⬤	Double;
	HR7581	ι Sagittarii		4.13	⬤
	HR7343	β2 Sagittarii	Arkab Posterior	4.29	⬤
	HR7623	θ1 Sagittarii		4.37	⬤
	HR7604	59 Sagittarii		4.52	⬤
...go to the complete list of 217 bright stars in the constellation of Sagittarius

(*) HR stands for Harvard Revised Bright Star Catalogue, which is also known as the Yale Catalogue of Bright Stars.

Deep Sky Objects in Sagittarius Constellation

The table below lists the 20 brightest deep sky objects in the Sagittarius constellation. See also the complete list of 119 deep sky objects in the constellation of Sagittarius. The list includes objects from the Messier, New General Catalogue (NGC) and Index Catalogue (IC).

	Name	Type	Magnitude
	Messier 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud)	Association of Stars	4.5 (V)
	Messier 25	Open Cluster	4.6 (V)
	NGC 6530	Star Cluster + Nebula	4.6 (V)
	Messier 23	Open Cluster	5.5 (V)
	Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula)	Nebula	5.8 (V)
	Messier 21	Open Cluster	5.9 (V)
	Messier 22 (Great Sagittarius Cluster)	Globular Cluster	6.17 (V)
	Messier 55	Globular Cluster	6.49 (V)
	Messier 18 (Black Swan)	Open Cluster	6.9 (V)
	Messier 28	Globular Cluster	6.9 (V)
	Messier 17 (Horseshoe Nebula)	Nebula	7 (V)
	NGC 6716	Open Cluster	7.5 (V)
	NGC 6520	Open Cluster	7.6 (V)
	Messier 54	Globular Cluster	7.7 (V)
	IC 1284	Nebula	7.7 (B)
	NGC 6546	Open Cluster	8 (V)
	NGC 6647	Open Cluster	8 (V)
	NGC 6822 (Barnard's Galaxy)	Galaxy	8.1 (V)
	NGC 6469	Open Cluster	8.2 (V)
...go to the complete list of 119 deep sky objects in the constellation of Sagittarius

In Evidence

All constellations

Sagittarius (The Archer) Constellation

Sky Chart of Sagittarius Constellation

Visibility of Sagittarius Constellation

Bright Stars in Sagittarius Constellation

Deep Sky Objects in Sagittarius Constellation