Constellation: Sagittarius

Sagittarius is one of the constellations of the zodiac and belongs to the 88 modern constellations.

According to the tropical astrology the Sun resides in Sagittarius from November 22 to December 21, while in the sidereal astrology is it said to transit it from December 16 to January 14. Astrologically, this is associated with the planet Jupiter.

It was first described by Ptolemy. This constellation from the Northern Hemisphere lies between Scorpioto the east and Capricorn to the west.

Stars at Sagittarius

1. Arkab Also known as Beta Sagittarii or Arkab Prior, Arkab is a two star system around 378 light years from Earth, it appears very close in the sky to another star, as a result both are known as Beta Sagittarri.

2. Rukbat Also known as Alpha Sagittarii, Rukbat is a blue main sequence star with surface temperatures more than twice that of the sun, it is around 180 light years from Earth.

3. Ascella Also known as Zeta Sagittarii, Ascella is a binary star system around 90 light years from Earth, both stars are white giants orbiting each other every 21 years.

4. Kaus Australis Also known as Epsilon Sagittarii, Kaus Australis is a binary star system around 140 light years from Earth and the brightest component in the constellation, the primary star is a blue giant around 7 times larger in radius than the sun.

5. Kaus Borealis Also known as Lambda Sagittarii, Kaus Borealis is an orange sub-giant star around 80 light years from Earth, the star is around 11 times larger in radius than the sun.

6. Nash Also known as Gamma Sagittarii, Nash is an orange giant star around 100 light years from Earth, the star is around 12 times larger in radius than the sun.

Mythology

Centaurs are half man half horse creatures that originated from Babylonian mythology and were later adopted by ancient Greek culture. The centaurs were considered as an entire race of beings who inhabited certain areas of the ancient world, they were considered as rather debauched and violent individuals who were generally best avoided.

The mythology behind Sagittarius is extremely complicated and uncertain, indeed some argue that the constellation doesn’t represent a centaur at all but a creature that is actually half man half goat. It has been suggested that the archer which represents the human half of Sagittarius is Chiron, who unlike the other centaurs was cultured and kind hearted. This has been disputed as Chiron is associated with the constellation of Centaurus. Whichever he may be one thing is undisputed, his arrow is pointed at the heart of the constellation of Scorpius, which is represented by the bright red star Antares.

Reference: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/715393181906108416 https://www.thehoroscope.co/sign-articles/sagittarius-Sagittarius-Constellation-Facts-35.html https://www.solarsystemquick.com/universe/sagittarius-constellation.html