Sagittarius – the Centaur

Just to the left or east of Scorpius is Sagittarius. Sagittarius is the southernmost zodiacal constellation and lies in the direction of the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Its stars form an easily recognizable asterism called the teapot. Without much imagination the teapot has a top or lid, a spout, and a handle. During mid-summer nights in July and August, it appears that the teapot is tilted as if it is positioned to pour out its contents with “steam” – the band of the Milky Way, rising out of its spout.

Sagittarius includes some of the brightest parts of the Milky Way. These are called the Sagittarius Star Cloud, and consist of millions of stars blending their light together. The galactic center of the Milky Way galaxy lies behind this great star cloud. The faint band of light you see is the Milky Way – our home galaxy – where the Solar System as well as every star visible that you see resides. It contains over 300 billion stars. Now we can’t see the entire galaxy, in fact, we are only seeing one portion of it.

Sagittarius contains more Messier objects than any other constellation. These Messier objects consist of open clusters of stars, globular clusters, and star forming regions called nebulae. Take a pair of binoculars to a dark site away from city lights and scan the region of “steam” rising up out of the teapot’s spout. You will no doubt be mesmerized by the myriad of faint fuzzies nestled within the star clouds which extend high overhead on summer nights.

According to mythology, Sagittarius is a centaur, a combination of a horse and a man. It represents Chiron, a gentle and wise centaur who is said to have invented the constellation aboard Argo, so the Argonauts could plot their way on the ocean using the stars. Chiron was an excellent archer and he created the constellation Sagittarius as a memorial to himself. The constellation is often referred to as “the Archer.” Other mythologies say that Jupiter placed Sagittarius next to the scorpion to keep him from Orion in the opposing part of the sky.

Enjoy! And Keep Looking Up!