In some cases, however, the star reignites in a helium flash and expands to return to a red giant state, ejecting huge amounts of gas and dust in the process, before once again shrinking to become a white dwarf. It lies at a distance of 35,500 light years. Centaurs were often associated with the abduction (or attempted abduction . It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is one of the most metal-poor galaxies known. HD 190647 (G5IV) has a known exoplanet, discovered in 2007. The cluster was discovered by William Herschel on August 7, 1784. It is a hydrogen fusing dwarf star that belongs to the spectral type B2.5 V. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.1. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is commonly thought to represent a centaur, a war-like creature with the torso of a man and the body of a horse. It has an apparent size of 5.2 by 5.2. The Upsilon Sagittarii system is about 1,672 light years distant and has an orbital period of 137.939 days. However, the ancient Greeks had a great deal of respect for the horse, and so were reluctant to make the centaurs entirely bad. The clusters, Arches (upper right), Quintuplet (upper center), and the GC cluster (bottom center), contain massive stars that appear as very bright, point-like X-ray sources when winds from their surfaces collide with those from an orbiting companion. Messier 75 is a globular star cluster about 67,500 light years from Earth. The region has relatively low amounts of dust and allows a view of the Galactic centre. It's easy to see why the myths behind Centaurus and Sagittarius often get confused. Tau Sagittarii is well known to astronomers as the closest visible star to the origin of the Wow! Its old astronomical symbol is (). It lies close to the star Zeta Sagittarii. The myth behind Sagittarius actually refers to Crotus, a satyr that lived on Mount Helicon with the Muses. Terzan 5 contains at least 34 and up to 200 milisecond radio pulsars (pulsars with a rotational period of 1-10 miliseconds), including PSR J1748-2446ad, the fastest spinning pulsar known, which rotates 716 times a second with a rotation period of 1.40 miliseconds. The brightest stars in the cluster are 16th magnitude. Chiron was wise and skilled not only in the arts of war but also healing and philosophy. V4641 Sagittarii is the fourth known microquasar, discovered after four of the fastest X-ray intensity changes ever seen from a star. Messier 55 is another globular cluster in Sagittarius. The cluster was first observed by Charles Messier in June 1764. The constellation of Sagittarius (which literally means "archer" in Latin, per Britannica) is said to be a centaur or satyr holding a bow and arrow, according to Gods and Monsters. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 6.9 and is about 2,150 light years distant. M75 is believed to be around 13 billion years old and sits approximately 67,500 light-years away from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of 12 and with a linear radius of 160 light years it occupies 7.3 of the apparent sky. The brightest stars in the cluster are 20th magnitude. The archer is usually identified as the centaur Chiron, though sometimes held to be a similar figure known as Crotus, a satyr. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.27 and is approximately 137 light years distant. Gamma Sagittarii is a K type (K0III) giant star with an apparent magnitude of 2.98. Image: ESA/Hubble and NASA. Its estimated age is 90 million years. It is also catalogued as ESO 456-70. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. It can be observed through a small telescope and is a popular deep sky object among amateur astronomers. The stars are 28 arc seconds apart. It may look like something from The Lord of the Rings, but this fiery swirl is actually a planetary nebula known as ESO 456-67. Messier 70 offers a special case because it has undergone what is known as a core collapse. The Trifid Nebula is a bright, colourful emission/reflection nebula in Sagittarius. Never observed anywhere in the bulge before, this peculiar cocktail of stars suggests that Terzan 5 is in fact one of the bulges primordial building blocks, most likely the relic of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way during its very early days. Whether you think Sagittarius is based on Chiron or Crotus doesn't really matter, I suppose. NGC 6822 is a barred irregular galaxy that belongs to the Local Group of galaxies. Some stars maintain relatively circular orbits, while others loop out into the clusters fringes. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.72 and belongs to the spectral type K3III. It is one of the closest stars to the Sun and the nearest star in Sagittarius constellation. The next occultation by a planet (Venus) will take place in our lifetime: on February 17, 2035. The cluster is believed to be only 2.5 million years old. They are believed to be a type of magnetar. During this time the black hole flared up in X-ray intensity half a dozen or more times. The cluster was discovered by William Herschel on 24 June, 1784. The Lagoon Nebula is a large interstellar cloud classified as an emission nebula. Located in the western part of Sagittarius, the cluster is surprisingly easy to see in binoculars and telescopes thanks to it being highly condensed in the center. NGC 6723 is a globular star cluster in Sagittarius, near the border with Corona Australis. It has a radius of 0.95 arc minutes. NGC 6565 is a planetary nebula, a cloud of gas expelled by a central star in its final stages, located about 14,000 light years away in Sagittarius. Messier 69 is a globular cluster. Image: European Space Agency, A. Riera (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain) and P. Garcia-Lario (European Space Agency ISO Data Centre, Spain). The cluster spans about 65 light years and occupies about 11 arc minutes of the apparent sky. It is a known X-ray source. The Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 4.5 and is approximately 65,000 light years distant. It is one of only four star systems known to be hydrogen-deficient, which makes it difficult to classify U Sgr. Ross 154 was originally catalogued by the American astronomer and physicist Frank Elmore Ross in 1925. The primary component in the Eta Sagittarii system is a type M3.5 red giant classified as an irregular variable star: The stars apparent magnitude varies from 3.08 to 3.12. Gamma Sagittarii is also known by its traditional names, Alnasl and Nushaba. At the time, Sag DEG was the nearest known neighbouring galaxy of the Milky Way. Peony Star has an estimated mass of about 100 solar masses and a radius 92 times solar. It has a mass of about 36 solar masses, which now puts it behind more than a dozen massive stars, including four members of the Arches Cluster. The myth behind Sagittarius actually refers to Crotus, a satyr that lived on Mount Helicon with the Muses. The Omega Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 6.0 and is between 5,000 and 6,000 light years distant. The star has a luminosity 3,300 times that of the Sun and about seven solar masses. The star was named after the shape of the nebula it illuminates, the Pistol Nebula. It has an absolute magnitude of -11 and a luminosity about 2 million times that of the Sun. Individuals born between November 22 and December 21 are known to be Sagittarius individuals. According to the Roman author Hyginus, Crotus was the son of Pan and the archer the constellation was named after. The supernova remnant Sagittarius A East is about 25 light years wide and appears to have originated in an event that occurred between 35,000 and 100,000 years ago. Sagittarius is one of the largest southern constellations. The star is approximately 89.1 light years distant from Earth. Astrology A medieval Sagittarius found in the Church of Notre-Dame, Sablires, France Nir al Beldat was later translated into Latin as Lucida Oppidi, which means the brightest of the town.. It is located about 50,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way. NGC 6540 is a globular cluster with an apparent magnitude of 9.30, located at a distance of 17,300 light years from Earth. The stars traditional name, Kaus Australis, comes from the Arabic word for bow (qaws) and the Latin word for southern (australis). The constellations Sagittarius and Centaurus are both supposed to represent a centaur, a creature with the upper torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse . Why Chiron gets credit as the figure in Sagittarius mythology is a bit of a mystery. People born under the Zodiac sign of Sagittarius, from November 22 to December 21, are said to be magnetic, passionate, adventurous, and intense, according to Allure perfect traits, in fact, to describe the archer figure that represents them. Image: ESO. The cluster has a highly concentrated core, with the majority of M75s stars located in a large nucleus. Obscured by clouds of dust, it cannot be observed in the visual bands, but is visible in radio, infrared and X-ray wavelengths. The stars are located at different distances from the solar system and are not gravitationally bound. As per Greek folklore, Sagittarius is a centaur. The Trifid Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and is approximately 5,200 light years distant. The cluster is so sparse that it was once considered to be an asterism. The star lies at a center of a planetary nebula, formed after the stars red giant stage about 8,300 years ago. The gamma ray burst was so powerful that it hit the Earths ionosphere and briefly expanded it. It is located only 5.41 light years from Barnards Star in the neighbouring constellation Ophiuchus. NGC 6553 is a globular cluster found just over a degree to the southeast of the Lagoon Nebula. At the bottom centre is a rather unremarkable smudge of red which is in fact a rare and valuable object. This vast ball of ancient stars is located at a distance of about 17,000 light-years from Earth. Sagittarius is an astrological sign transitted by the Sun from approximately November 23rd to December 22nd. It lies at a distance of 5,500 light years from Earth. The Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24) is, as the name says, a star cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. This, however, only applies to Mars and it happens very rarely. Another Greek myth connects Sagittarius with Crotus, the son of Pan, the goat-god, and Eupheme, the nurse of the Muses. Chiron and Achilles. Edward Emerson Barnard catalogued it as IC 4690 in August 1905. Also prominent in the upper left of this new image is a striking bubble-shaped nebula. Emerson/VISTA. Chiron was a kind, talented, and gentle creature. The zodiacal constellation Sagittarius represents the centaur Chiron. The Ancient Gods of Greek Myth The psychological branch of Astrology uses the concept of primeval images, or ' archetypes ' constellated at the very roots of a person's being. Its final helium flash is expected to occur in the next few decades. Sometimes it is also called the Sagittarius I Dwarf or Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal. The star HD 169830 (F9V) is orbited by two Jupiter-like planets, discovered in 2000 and 2013. This beautiful image features the globular star cluster M75. The Mythology Behind The Sagittarius Constellation Explained. Zodiac Signs and Greek mythology One of the most well-known aspects of astrology is the connection between the zodiac signs and Greek mythology. NGC 6589 is a reflection nebula that occupies an area of 5.0 by 3.0 in apparent size. It contains areas of massive H II emission, large clouds of partly ionized gas which show evidence of recent star forming activity. The constellation Sagittarius contains 17 named stars. Crotus and Chiron share a lot in common. It is a densely populated cluster, classified as class I. It is now believed to be located at least 15 times farther away. The stars and clusters in the Sagittarius Star Cloud are part of the Sagittarius or Sagittarius-Carina spiral arms of the Milky Way. The star cannot be observed in visual bands because less than a billionth of its light in the visible spectrum reaches us, which translates to about 35th visual magnitude. The symbol of the Sagittarius is the centaur, a half-man and half-horse being from Greek mythology, or more generally, the archeras the centaur is typically . The cluster contains some of the brightest, most massive stars in our galaxy. It has an apparent magnitude of 12.87. Alpha Sagittarii shares its traditional name, Rukbat, with the star Delta Cassiopeiae (now formally known as Ruchbah). The Sagittarius Dwarf is believed to already have orbited the Milky Way about 10 times in the last billion years or so, and it still appears to have coherence as an elongated ellipse despite being torn apart by enormous tidal forces as a result of the interaction. Peering through the thick dust clouds of our galaxys central parts (the bulge) with an amazing amount of detail, a team of astronomers has revealed an unusual mix of stars in the stellar grouping known as Terzan 5. It cannot be seen visually, but must be observed in radio, X-ray and infrared bands. Also discovered were more than two thousand other X-ray sources and huge lobes of 20 million-degree Centigrade gas (the red loops in the image at approximately the 2 oclock and 7 oclock positions). 1806-20 contains at least three Wolf-Rayet stars, an OB supergiant, the soft gamma repeater SGR 1806-20 and LBV 1806-20, once of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. Zeta Sagittarii consists of a class A2 giant star with an apparent magnitude of 3.26 and an A4 type subgiant star with an apparent magnitude of 3.37. The nebula has an apparent size of only 10 by 8 arc seconds and an apparent magnitude of 13. (However, most viewers don't see an archer when they look at Sagittariusthe teapot shape is far easier to identify.) At the time of discovery, LBV 1806-20 was thought to be the most luminous and most massive star ever discovered. The nebula expands at the velocity of about 32 km/s and occupies an area of 44 arc seconds. Sigma Sagittarii is also notable for being the brightest star that can be occulted by an exterior planet. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable. Lambda Sagittarii is an orange giant star, belonging to the spectral class K1+IIIb, with an apparent magnitude of 2.82. Messier included it in his catalogue in 1764. The cluster is about 67 light years in radius and has an apparent magnitude of 9.18. The Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy is an old galaxy, composed mainly of Population II stars (old, metal-poor stars). It is not fully understood how planetary nebulae form such a wide variety of shapes and structures; some appear to be spherical, some elliptical, others shoot material in waves from their polar regions, some look like hourglasses or figures of eight, and others resemble large, messy stellar explosions to name but a few. The Sagittarius Cluster is one of the brightest globular star clusters in the sky. M69 has a radius of 42 light years and an apparent magnitude of 8.31. The nebula was discovered by Edward Charles Pickering on July 14, 1880. History and Mythology Of The Sagittarius Constellation. signal, the first and only radio signal ever received that indicated the possibility of extraterrestial intelligence. The two-lobed nebula surrounds the central hot white dwarf that produces a hot wind with a speed of 300 km/s. The brightest companion star is an F class dwarf with an apparent magnitude of 7.77. The nearest star is Ross 154 (V1216 Sagittarii, spectral class M3.5V), located at a distance of only 9.69 light years from Earth. Alpha Sagittarii is a blue dwarf belonging to the spectral class B8V. Eratosthenes associated it with Crotus, a mythical creature with two feet and a satyrs tail, who was the nurse to the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus. All Rights Reserved. The nebula was discovered by Truman Safford on 28 August, 1867. It was discovered by Edward Charles Pickering on August 18, 1882. The constellation name Sagittarius is pronounced /sdtris/. These figures come from Greco-Roman mythology, but it's thought that the ancient Babylonians were the first to identify Sagittarius as an archer, in 11th century B.C. PSR J1748-2446ad was discovered on 10 November, 2004. The glyph is the upward-pointing arrow of the archer, ready to be fired into the future. The cluster has a visual magnitude of 8.06 and lies at a distance of 19,600 light years from Earth. Astronomers obtained this portrait of Barnards Galaxy using the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESOs La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The Red Spider Nebula is a planetary nebula that occupies an area of 1.5 arc minutes in the northwestern part of Sagittarius. The cluster was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Around the year 6300, the system will have moved from Sagittarius to the Corona Australis constellation. As understood through the centaur, the Sagittarius sign is as optimistic as the archer but . The cause of these outbursts is not understood, but the rapidity with which they rise and fall indicates that they are occurring near the event horizon, or point of no return, around the black hole. The Hourglass Nebula contains several Herbig-Haro objects, small patches of nebulosity indicating that there are newly born stars in the vicinity, and providing direct evidence of star forming activity in the region. While the star is far enough for the supernova itself to be harmless, a long duration gamma-ray burst (LGRB) pointed in our direction could certainly do serious damage to our ozone layer. NGC 6624, based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and obtained from the Hubble Legacy Archive, which is a collaboration between the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI/NASA), the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF/ESA) and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC/NRC/CSA). Image: Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Space Telescope, Martin Pugh; Processing: Robert Gendler. The star was last occulted by a planet on November 17, 1981, when Venus passed in front of it. It is approximately 77.3 light years distant. It is a red supergiant located about 10,000 light years from Earth, with an apparent magnitude varying between 8.5 and 11.The stars diameter is 1,460 times the diameter of the Sun. The cluster is nine light years in radius, has an apparent magnitude of 7.5, and is approximately 4,900 light years distant. Hubble established a distance of over 700,000 light years using the Cepheids period-luminosity relationship, and this was the first system located beyond the Magellanic Clouds to have its distance accurately determined. Messier 70 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, located close to the Galactic centre. Its inner elongated shape is believed to be the result of a fast wind of material travelling away from the hot 15th magnitude central star. It belongs to the spectral class F2II. Satyrs have human heads and torsos with goat legs (and sometimes horns). The cluster was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The genitive form of Sagittarius, used in star names, is Sagittarii (pronunciation: /sdtria/). The nebula is an H II region originally discovered by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys De Chseaux in 1745. It is also notable for being one of only four known globular clusters that contain a planetary nebula.
