![]() Sagittarius lies in a region of the sky that points to the center of the Milky Way. "At the time of its formation about 2 million years ago, the Pistol Star may have been one of the most massive stars in the Milky Way," Christophe Martayan wrote in his research on the star. Still, the star may hold records on its formation size. Later observations scaled down its brightness somewhat. When NASA's Hubble Space Telescope examined the star in 1997, it was thought to be the most luminous star ever known. It is part of a dense region full of massive young stars known as Quintuplet Cluster near the center of the galaxy, roughly 25,000 light-years from the sun. While it is bright, it is barely visible to the naked eye due to a great deal of interstellar dust that surrounds it. Sagittarius is home to the bright blue hypergiant Pistol Star, one of the brightest stars discovered in the Milky Way. It is a double star about 90 light-years distant. Making up the armpit, Zeta Sagittarii, also known as Ascella, is the third brightest star in the constellation. ![]() With a magnitude of 2.1, Sigma Sagittarii this is the second brightest star in Sagittarius. The IAU's working group approved the name Alnasi for the star. An orange giant, 10 Sagittarii (Gamma-2) lies more than 400 light-years from Earth. W Sagittarii lies approximately 95 light-years from Earth. Instead of a single star, W Sagittarii (Gamma-1) is made up of three components, with the primary star a pulsing yellow supergiant six times as massive as the sun. In 2016, a working group organized by the International Astronomical Union approved the name Kaus Media for the star.Īt the tip of the arrowhead lies a pair of double stars that share the Gamma Sagittarii designation. The giant star has three dim companions that may or may not be connected to the primary. "With a mass about 2.3 times solar, Kaus Borealis is a prime example of what astronomers call a 'clump star,' one that, though dying, is currently quite stable," Jim Kaler, astronomer and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, said on his website.ĭelta Sagittarii (Kaus Media, or middlebow) is a double star about 350 light-years from the sun. An orange giant, the star is 11 times brighter than the sun and lies about 77 light-years away. ![]() "In any event," Darling says on his website, "the star is much brighter than its main sequence counterparts and is clearly in a more advanced state."įorming the top of the Teapot, Lambda Sagittarii (Kaus Borealis, or northern bow) is 77 light-years from the sun and is the fifth-brightest star (though Lambda is the eleventh letter in the Greek alphabet). According to astronomer David Darling, Epsilon Sagittarii has traditionally been classified as a cool B-star, but more recent observations have classified it as a hot-end class A as a bright giant. The 36th brightest star in the sky, Epsilon Sagittarii is 145 light-years distant and 375 times brighter than the sun, though slightly smaller. Instead, he named the brightest star Epsilon Sagittarii (Kaus Media, or middle bow). ![]() While typical naming conventions have the alpha star as the brightest star in a constellation, German celestial cartographer Johann Bayer did not follow his own rule. Delta, Epsilon and Lambda Sagittarii come together to form the archer's bow. The constellation's brightest stars - Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Phi, Lambda, Gamma-2, Sigma and Tau Sagittarii - form a star pattern, or asterism, called the Teapot. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |