Editing Sagittarius (constellation) (section)

== Visualizations ==
{{anchor|Teapot}}<!-- Teapot (asterism) redirects to this section -->
[[File:Sagittarius-teapot-asterism.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|The "Teapot" asterism is in Sagittarius. The Milky Way is the "steam" coming from the spout. The galactic center [[Sagittarius A*]] is located off the top of the spout.]]
As seen from the northern hemisphere, the constellation's brighter stars form an easily recognizable [[asterism (astronomy)|asterism]] known as "the [[Teapot]]".<ref name="McClure2019">{{cite web |last1=McClure |first1=Bruce |title=Find the Teapot, and look toward the galaxy's center |url=https://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/teapot-of-sagittarius-points-to-galactic-center |website=Earth Sky |access-date=14 January 2020 |date=19 Aug 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McClure |first1=Bruce |title=Sagittarius? Here's your constellation |url=https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/sagittarius-heres-your-constellation |website=Earth Sky |access-date=14 January 2020 |date=1 Aug 2017}}</ref> The stars [[Delta Sagittarii|δ Sgr]] (Kaus Media), [[Epsilon Sagittarii|ε Sgr]] (Kaus Australis), [[Zeta Sagittarii|ζ Sgr]] (Ascella), and [[Phi Sagittarii|φ Sgr]] form the body of the pot; [[Lambda Sagittarii|λ Sgr]] (Kaus Borealis) is the point of the lid; [[Gamma2 Sagittarii|γ<sup>2</sup> Sgr]] (Alnasl) is the tip of the spout; and [[Sigma Sagittarii|σ Sgr]] (Nunki) and [[Tau Sagittarii|τ Sgr]] the handle. These same stars originally formed the bow and arrow of Sagittarius.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/bowandarrow.html|title = The Bow and Arrow of Sagittarius|website = Star Tales (online edition) |access-date = 2025-04-24}}</ref>

Marking the bottom of the teapot's "handle" (or the shoulder area of the archer), is the bright star (2.59 magnitude) [[Zeta Sagittarii]] (ζ Sgr), named [[Ascella]], and the fainter [[Tau Sagittarii]] (τ Sgr).

To complete the teapot metaphor, under dark skies a particularly dense area of the [[Milky Way]] (the [[Large Sagittarius Star Cloud]]) can be seen rising in a north-westerly arc above the spout, like a puff of steam rising from a boiling kettle.<ref>P.K. Chen (Sky Publishing 2007) ''A Constellation Album: Stars and Mythology of the Night Sky'' {{ISBN|978-1931559386}}.</ref>

The constellation as a whole is often depicted as having the rough appearance of a stick-figure archer drawing its bow, with the fainter stars providing the outline of the horse's body.  Sagittarius famously points its arrow at the heart of [[Scorpius]], represented by the reddish star [[Antares]], as the two constellations race around the sky.  Following the direct line formed by [[Delta Sagittarii]] (δ Sgr) and [[Gamma2 Sagittarii]] (γ<sup>2</sup> Sgr) leads nearly directly to Antares. Fittingly, Gamma2 Sagittarii is [[Alnasl]], the Arabic word for "arrowhead", and Delta Sagittarii is called [[Kaus Media]], the "center of the bow," from which the arrow protrudes. Kaus Media bisects [[Lambda Sagittarii]] (λ Sgr) and [[Epsilon Sagittarii]] (ε Sgr), whose names Kaus Borealis and Kaus Australis refer to the northern and southern portions of the bow, respectively.<ref name=Ridpath>{{cite book|last=Ridpath|first=Ian|title=Star Tales|year=2018|publisher=Lutterworth Press|isbn=978-0718894788|pages=154–156}}</ref>

Due to its astronomical interest and its status as a Zodiac constellation, Sagittarius is one of the best-known constellations and is considered a prominent feature of the summer skies in the northern hemisphere. However, at locations north of 43°N the constellation either drags along the southern horizon, or it does not rise at all. By contrast, in most of the southern hemisphere Sagittarius can appear overhead or nearly so. It is hidden behind the Sun's glare from mid-November to mid-January and is the location of the Sun at the December solstice. By March, Sagittarius is rising at midnight. In June, it achieves opposition and can be seen all night. The June full moon appears in Sagittarius.

In classical antiquity, Capricorn was the location of the Sun at the December solstice, but due to the [[precession of the equinoxes]], this had shifted to Sagittarius by the time of the [[Roman Empire]]. By approximately 2700 AD, the Sun will be in [[Scorpius]] at the December solstice.

[[File:Sagittarius region .jpg|thumb|Sagittarius region of the Milky Way]]