Sagittarius

Sagittarius, also called the Archer, is one of the most prominent constellations of mid-summer, dominating the southern sky during July and August. The brightest portion of the Milky Way lies just to the west and north of this group of stars. The connecting lines I include here on this web site are entirely different from the ones most often seen in modern publications and thus the constellation will be hard to recognize for anyone who has seen the modern and traditional outline. But in order to be consistent with the other constellation outlines I have used for others on this site, I am putting lines on Sagittarius that most closely match its alternative name: The Archer. The star Nunki (Sigma Sagittarii) is a second magnitude type B giant, is about 228 light years from Earth, and is about 3300 times as bright as the sun. It has a 9th magnitude companion. Kaus Australis (Epsilon Sagittarii) is also a second magnitude type B giant with a faint companion, lying at a distance of 143 light years, and radiating about 360 times the sun's luminosity. Kaus Borealis (Lambda Sagittarii) is a third magnitude type K giant star, just a little larger and brighter than the sun, lying about 78 light years from us. Kaus Media (Delta Sagittarii) is also a third magnitude type K giant star, and at a distance of 348 light years, is a bit larger and brighter than Lambda. It is a quadruple system, hosting 3 faint companions. Ascella (Zeta Sagittarii) is a triple system of two third magnitude type A stars lying at a distance of 88 light years and a 10th magnitude companion. Alnasl (Gamma Sagittarii) is a third magnitude type K giant star about 97 light years from Earth, with a 5th magnitude companion.

Image taken during the summer of 2015. Exposure is 10 seconds at F:2 with the Nikkor 50mm lens, camera ISO set at 3200