Sagittarius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is , a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling back a bow. It lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus and Microscopium to the east.
Epsilon Sagittarii, also called Kaus Australis, is a binary star system in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The apparent visual magnitude of +1.85 makes it the brightest object in Sagittarius. Based upon parallax measurements, this star is around 143 light-years from the Sun.
Sigma Sagittarii, also named Nunki, is the second-brightest star in the constellation of Sagittarius. It has an apparent magnitude of +2.05, making it readily visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star, determined using parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, yields an estimated value of 228 light-years from the Sun.
Alpha Sagittarii, also named Rukbat, is a star in the constellation of Sagittarius.
Lambda Sagittarii, also named Kaus Borealis, is a star in the southern constellation of Sagittarius. The star marks the top of the Archer's bow.
Pi Sagittarii is a triple star system in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +2.89, bright enough to be readily seen with the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements, it is roughly 510 light-years from the Sun.
Delta Sagittarii, also named Kaus Media, is a double star in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.70, making it easily visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements place the distance at roughly 348 light-years from the Sun.
Zeta Sagittarii is a triple star system and the third-brightest star in the constellation of Sagittarius. Based upon parallax measurements, it is about 88 ly (27 pc) from the Sun.
Gamma² Sagittarii, also named Alnasl, is a 3rd-magnitude star in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The location of this star forms the tip of the arrow in the bow of Sagittarius the Centaur. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 96.9 light-years from the Sun. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +2.98, making it the seventh-brightest star in the constellation.
Omicron Sagittarii is a binary star in the constellation Sagittarius. ο Sagittarii is 142 light years from Earth and is a spectral type K0 orange giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.77. It has a faint, 13th magnitude companion, ο Sagittarii B, 36 arc seconds away.
Mu Sagittarii is a multiple star system in the constellation of Sagittarius. The brightest component, designated Mu Sagittarii Aa, is named Polis. The system is 3,000 light-years from the Sun and is part of the Sgr OB1 stellar association.
Beta Sagittarii is the common designation shared by two star systems in the constellation of Sagittarius, themselves designated β1 Sagittarii and β2 Sagittarii. The two systems are separated by 0.36° in the sky.
Beta¹ Sagittarii is a binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. It is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of +4.01. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.40 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 310 light-years from the Sun.
Theta1 Sagittarii (θ1 Sagittarii) is a close binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.37. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 6.29 mas as seen from Earth, this star is located around 520 light years from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.24 due to interstellar dust.
Theta2 Sagittarii (θ2 Sagittarii) is a solitary star in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.30. The star is progressing in the general direction of the Sun with a radial velocity of −17.60 km/s. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 20.62 mas as seen from Earth, it is located around 158 light years from the Sun.
Omega Sagittarii, also named Terebellum, is a G-type subgiant star in the constellation of Sagittarius. It has an apparent visual magnitude of approximately 4.70.
Upsilon Sagittarii is a spectroscopic binary star system in the constellation Sagittarius. Upsilon Sagittarii is the prototypical hydrogen-deficient binary (HdB), and one of only four such systems known. The unusual spectrum of hydrogen-deficient binaries has made stellar classification of Upsilon Sagittarii difficult.
Nu¹ Sagittarii is a triple star system lying approximately 1,100 light-years from Earth. Its three components are designated Nu¹ Sagittarii A, B and C. A and B themselves form a spectroscopic binary.
The Bayer designation Chi Sagittarii (χ Sagittarii) is shared by three star systems in the zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The brightest of these, χ1 Sagittarii and χ3 Sagittarii, are separated by 0.56° on the sky. The dimmer star χ2 Sagittarii is located between them, 0.10° from χ1, and is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. In 1977, the Wow! signal came from the direction of these stars.
Mūla ("root") is the 19th nakshatra or "lunar mansion" in Vedic astrology and corresponds to the stars ε, ζ Sgr, η, θ, ι Sgr, κ Sgr, υ, λ, μ and ν Sagittarii. The symbol of Mula is a bunch of roots tied together or an 'elephant goad' (ankusha) and the Deity associated with it is Niriti, the god of dissolution and destruction. The Lord of Mula is Ketu.
