Sagitta Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Sagitta is one of the 48 constellations first described by the Greek astronomer Claudio Ptolemy; this constellation appears in the Almagest, the complete stellar catalog of antiquity.

In Greek mythology, Sagitta was considered the weapon Hercules used to kill Jupiter's eagle (now the constellation Aquila) that perpetually bit Prometheus' liver.

During the tenth century, several observers associated the constellation Sagitta with various stories, the most popular of them being the arrow shot by Hercules towards the birds of the Stymphalus.

The birds of Estinfalo were a group of birds of prey that had iron claws, beaks, and wings and lived on human flesh in the swamps of Arcadia, which according to history, are represented by the constellations Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra.

Despite being one of the oldest constellations, Sagitta is often confused with the constellation Sagittarius.

Because of this, it has not had much historical popularity.

In scientific research, astronomers have found various star systems with exoplanets within the borders of Sagitta, which are of vital importance for the study of evolution and planetary formation.

The constellation Sagitta resides in the fourth quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ4), at latitudes between 70° S and 90° N, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky in every country in the world, including a small section of Antarctica.

Sagitta is visible in the USA, Germany, Russia, England, China, and Japan in the northern hemisphere.

Sagitta is visible in every country in the southern hemisphere, including a small section of Antarctica.

Sagitta is a constellation near the north pole, so it is visible for the northern hemisphere countries throughout the year. Yet, the best month to see it in August.

For the southern hemisphere countries, the Sagitta sun is visible during autumn and winter; the rest of the year, only small sections of the constellation are seen.

Sagitta is very close to the north pole.

In addition, it is a small and very faint constellation; it is tough to see with the naked eye in the sky with a lot of light pollution around, it is advisable to use binoculars.

In terms of navigation, the best way to locate the constellation Sagitta is to draw an imaginary line from the star Gaia DR2 20261 of the constellation Cygnus to the star Altair the constellation Aquila.

Sagitta is located between the two constellations: Aquila and Cygnus

The constellations bordering Sagitta are Vulpecula, Hercules, Aquila, and Delphinus.

In addition, the constellation Sagitta belongs to the family of constellations of Hercules; these include Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.

Officially Sagitta has 26 stars formally recognized by the International Astronomical Union, of which 4 are part of the central figure of the constellation; these are M71, Gamma Sagittae, Delta Sagittae, Sham, and Beta Sagittae.

Gamma Sagittae is the brightest star in the constellation Sagitta with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.47.

It is a red giant star with a stellar classification of M0 III. It is located 288 light-years from the solar system.

Located at a distance of 448 light-years, Delta Sagittae is a spectroscopic binary star with a visual magnitude of +3.68; for that reason, it is the second brightest star in the constellation Sagitta.

With an apparent magnitude of +4.37, Sham is the third brightest star in the constellation Sagitta, lies at a distance of 475 light-years from Earth, and is a sun-like star.

Sagitta is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects are celestial bodies different from stars, such as nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies) or galaxies.

Being a tiny constellation, Sagitta only has four easily recognizable deep-sky objects, these are:

• Globular cluster Messier 71, M71, or NGC 6838: It is one of the closest clusters to Earth, located at about 12,000 light-years from Earth. It is possible to distinguish its red giant stars from any other telescope.
• 3C 400.2: It is an ancient supernova remnant whose age may be 45,000 years.
• SNR G054.1+00.3: This supernova remnant is between 1500 and 3600 years old.
• NGC 6886 is a planetary nebula discovered by Ralph Copeland on September 17, 1884. It is composed of a central star that has 55% of the mass of the Sun.

Sagitta is a constellation of the northern celestial hemisphere; it comes from Latin and means 'arrow'.

Although it is in the northern hemisphere, the constellation Sagitta is visible in every country in the southern hemisphere, including a small section of Antarctica.

Sagitta is a constellation located in the northern hemisphere. Still, it is visible all year round, but the best month to see it is August.

Sagitta's brightest star is Gamma Sagittae, with a visual magnitude of +3.47.

The best way to locate the Sagitta constellation is to draw an imaginary straight line from the star Gaia DR2 20261 of the constellation Cygnus to the star Altair of the constellation Aquila. Sagitta is located right in the middle of the two constellations.

The most notable deep sky body of Sagitta is the globular cluster Messier 71.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/sagitta-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-sagitta.html
3. https://www.universeguide.com/constellation/sagittate
4. https://theskylive.com/sky/constellations/sagitta-constellation