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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Sagitta » 

Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae)

Altitude: 13.6°   Azimuth: 78.1°   Direction: East-North-East

Sham, also designated as α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae), is a multiple bright giant star in the constellation of Sagitta.

Sham visual magnitude is 4.37. Because of its moderate brightness, Sham should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Sham:

4.37
Bright giant

Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 13.6°
Azimuth: 78.1°
Direction: East-North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Sham

Sham is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Sham are provided in the following table:

19h 40m 05s
+18° 00’ 50”
54.45°
-2.14°
Sagitta

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Sham in the sky:

Finder chart Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae) star
Simplified finder chart for Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae).

Visibility of Sham from your location

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

Today's Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae) 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: 72.0°
Max altitude: 56.5°
Azimuth: 288.0°

Digitized Sky Survey image of Sham

The image below is a photograph of Sham from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Sham is 0.014 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.021 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Sham - α Sagittae (alpha Sagittae) star
DSS2 image of Sham. The red arrow shows the motion of Sham during the next 10000 years (2.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.50 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Sham from the Sun and relative movement

Sham is distant 473.15 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 2 kilometers per second.

145.14 pc
473.15 ly
2 km/s
0.014 arcsec/year
-0.021 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Sham

Sham belongs to spectral class G1 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a bright giant star.

-1.44
G1II
5342K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Sham is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of Sham. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Sham star system properties

Sham is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Sham double sysyem:

4.37
11.17
6.8
90 arcsec

Alternative designations of Sham

Sham
α Sagittae
(alpha Sagittae)
SAO105120
SAO105120