The Constellation Sagittarius, the Archer
Click on image for full size
Sagittarius
Sagittarius is a centaur, with the torso of a man atop the body of a
horse. Unlike the wise and peaceful centaur Chiron (
Centaurus),
Sagittarius is aiming his giant bow at his neighbor,
Scorpius. While this is a very large
constellation, its stars are relatively faint and most people easily
recognize just the central asterism which resembles a teapot with a
lid, handle, and spout.
Looking into Sagittarius, you are looking directly at the center of
our Galaxy through its disk, and many varieties of astronomical
treasures can be found there. More than a dozen Messier objects
reside in Sagittarius, including globular clusters M69, M70,
and M54 which lie along the bottom of the teapot. Recently,
astronomers have discovered a small galaxy in Sagittarius that is
crashing through the Milky Way.
Exactly who is Sagittarius? The Mediterranean people viewed him as Enkidu,
the close friend of Gilgamesh, believed to be represented by Orion.
Greek mythology associates Sagittarius with Crotus, the son of the
goat-god Pan and Eupheme, the nurse of the Muses. He grew to be a
skilled hunter, as well as a man with an artistic soul. The Muses,
with whom he was raised, begged Zeus to honor him with a constellation
equal to his great talents.
You might also be interested in:
What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?
...moreMore than any other constellation, Scorpius resembles its given name. It is located low in the south for northern latitudes, but passes high in the sky for viewers in the southern hemisphere. The bright
...more Orion, the Hunter, is by far the most famous seasonal constellation. No other is more distinguishable or bright as this northern winter constellation. The famous Orion's Belt makes the hunter easy to
...moreIn Greek mythology, Zeus (Jupiter in Roman mythology) was the king of heaven and Earth and of all the Olympian gods. He was also known as the god of justice. He was named king of the gods in the special
...moreAquila, the celestial eagle, is one of the three constellations which have bright stars forming the Summer Triangle. A nearly perfectly straight line of three stars symbolizes part of the wings. The center
...moreCygnus, the Swan, is also known as the Northern Cross because of its distinctive shape. The tail of the swan is marked by the bright star Deneb, Arabic for "tail". Three fainter stars cross the line between
...more Hercules, the great Greek warrior, can be seen kneeling in the sky for northern latitudes throughout the Spring months. Hercules first becomes visible in the east in April, and works his way high across
...moreLyra, the Lyre, is a type of small harp held in the player's lap. The brightest star in Lyra, Vega, is placed in the handle of the harp. A small parallelogram of four faint stars just to the southeast
...more