The constellation of Sagittarius. Astronomy, 11th grade. Stars in the constellations

The constellation of Sagittarius is located between Scorpio and Capricorn. It is interesting because it contains the center of the Galaxy. Also in this large zodiacal constellation is the point of the winter solstice. Sagittarius includes many stars. Some of them are quite bright. This constellation occupies a large area in the night sky. There are many myths and legends associated with it. In the school, the constellations are studied within the framework of the course "Astronomy" (11th grade). But the curriculum is limited. And lovers of heavenly bodies always want to get more knowledge not only about the constellations, but also about the nebulae and galaxies associated with them.

The constellation of Sagittarius

Sagittarius is undoubtedly one of the most amazing and interesting constellations of the night sky. It is here that the center of our Galaxy is located approximately 30,000 light-years distant. It is hidden behind clouds consisting of interstellar dust. Call the stars of the constellation Sagittarius the brightest in the sky, of course, not, but still some of them reach a visual value of 2.0 and are clearly distinguishable in the sky.

It is believed that in Sagittarius you can observe the most beautiful part of the Milky Way. Here, even in field binoculars, globular clusters and nebulae are visible. The most interesting and, of course, beautiful of them are the Lagoon and Omega nebulae (sometimes called the Swan), as well as the recently opened M20. Scientists have proved that there is even a black hole in the constellation of Sagittarius , according to astrophysicists, it is located in the center of our Galaxy.

So, it's easy to find the constellation of Sagittarius in the sky. Photos, obtained with the help of powerful telescopes, help to find something that is not visible to the naked eye. In the northeastern part of the constellation, with good magnification, one can consider a dwarf galaxy. It is located near the Milky Way. The distance to this foggy galaxy of irregular shape is about 1.7 million light-years. By the way, it was discovered in 1884 by the scientist E. Barnard.

Naturally, all objects in the constellation of Sagittarius are at different distances from the solar system. Up to the nearest star - Ros 154 - only 9.69 light years. And this is by cosmic standards relatively close. So, you could say that this is our neighbor.

The constellation of Sagittarius in the sky

This constellation is clearly visible in the night sky in the summer. It appears from the second decade of February, and you can watch it until November. The best conditions for observations are the summer months. Then it disappears. The sun is in Sagittarius from December 18 to January 18. Very interesting fact: it was on the part of the constellation Sagittarius August 15, 1977 was adopted by the world-famous signal "Wow!" - presumably from extraterrestrial civilization.

Myths about the constellation

The constellation of Sagittarius is connected with two centaurs known in mythology: Krotos and Chiron. Almost in all atlases of the starry sky at all times, it was transmitted by a drawing on which a creature with a man's torso and a horse's body was depicted. In this form it was listed in the catalog of Claudius Ptolemy "Almagest".

The most famous Greek myth about the constellation of Sagittarius connects him with the wise Chiron, the teacher and mentor of many heroes. It was believed that it was this centaur specifically for the journey of the Argonauts who invented the celestial globe. On it, he left the site for himself. It's easy to guess that this is the constellation Sagittarius, since this centaur shot perfectly from the bow. But the unforeseen happened: the clever Krotos preceded him and took his place. Well, Chiron had to settle for a less honorable constellation of Centauri.

The constellation Sagittarius was included in the "Collection of Svyatoslav" as far back as 1073. Slavic tribes, it was known under its modern name.

The Lagoon Nebula

Many cosmic secrets are kept by the constellation Sagittarius. The photos obtained with the help of the telescope helped to study in detail the nebula Laguna, which is located in it. It can rightfully be considered a landmark of the summer sky. For those who like to watch the stars, this nebula may seem very interesting object. It can be seen even with binoculars.

The Lagoon Nebula is the cradle for the stars. It is a star-forming accumulation of cosmic dust. It is oval in shape with a clearly distinguishable center. The nebula contains a star cluster, which turns it into one of the most beautiful objects of the summer night sky. It is distant from the solar system by 5200 light years. Contains globules - dark clouds of prostellar material.

M20 Nebula

Of course, not only stars in constellations are of interest to amateur astronomers. Nebulae are also very interesting. There are several of them in the constellation of Sagittarius. But one of the most beautiful is undoubtedly the M20 nebula. This is the most interesting object for observing a summer night, although it can be seen in the telescopes of the medium and large aperture.

The first thing that attracts attention is a few stars in the middle of the brightest part of the nebula. Then it becomes noticeable that this object is "torn" as it were. A black gap is seen dividing the nebula into two parts. This dark section has the shape of the letter "T". With good magnification, it is seen that the nebula consists of three parts. And next to it is another more dim object.

Thus, the M20 nebula is represented by three main types of stasis: pink (emission), black (absorbing) and blue (reflecting).

Alpha Sagittarius

Stars of the constellation Sagittarius are not very bright. Probably, therefore, for fans of the night sky it is not very popular. In this constellation, it is interesting that alpha is not the brightest star. But still it is visible and has its own name.

Rukbat is a blue and white star. In Arabic, its name means "knee". This is Alpha Sagittarius. From the solar system to the star, the Rukbat is approximately 71.4 parsecs. In the figure, it is on the front left leg in the knee. From here she got her name. In the brightness of alpha Sagittarius is much inferior to the star Kaus Australis.

Star Kaus Australis

The brightest star in the constellation is the Sagittarius ipsilon. The apparent brilliance of Kaus Australis is 1.79, which corresponds to the brightness of the stars in the "bucket" of the Big Dipper. It is easily visible to the naked eye, and it is easy to find in the night sky. The mystery of such a bright radiance was revealed by scientists in the middle of the twentieth century. With a detailed study of Sagittarius's ipsilon, it was determined that it was a double star.

Kaus Australis is translated as the "southern part of the bow", which reflects its position in the constellation figure. This is the southernmost and brightest star in the bow of Sagittarius, which consists of three objects. Onions form, with the exception of Kaus Australis, two more stars. Astronomy is a science that is both accurate and creative, therefore, in addition to official names, the objects of the night sky also have personal names. Lambda and Beta Sagittarius are called respectively Caus Borealis and Caus Meridionalis. Together with ipsilinom they form a "bow".

Triple Star in the constellation Sagittarius

In the constellation of Sagittarius are different stars. Astronomy has data on supergiants and dwarfs. But special attention is paid to astronomical scientists by triple stars. They are very rare and therefore of interest. In the constellation of Sagittarius there is a triple star - it is Albaldes. From the solar system, it is removed at a distance of approximately 508 light years. In the star catalogs it is brought under the designation "pi Sagittarius".

Albaldah is a very bright star. It is clearly visible to the naked eye, therefore it has been known since ancient times. The name was given to her by Arab astronomers, who paid attention to her even before our era. From the ancient Arabic word "Albaldah" is translated as "city". Perhaps they already knew that it was not one, but three stars, which would explain such a name. But confirmation of this fact was not found.

Pi Sagittarius is a system of three stars. The main one is a yellow-and-white giant. The temperature of its surface is about 6590 kelvins. It is also interesting that the luminosity of this giant exceeds the solar one thousand times. The star is at that stage of evolution, when gravity and its internal pressure lose stability. The yellow-white giant begins to expand and contract. Albaldakh's satellites practically do not know anything. The nature of these stars has not yet been revealed.

Gamma Sagittarius

The constellation of Sagittarius includes many more giants. However, not all of them are clearly visible to the naked eye. But not Alnastle. This star is located from the solar system at a distance of 96 light years.

Gamma Sagittarius is clearly visible in the sky on a moonless night. Therefore, it is known to scientists since ancient times. It is also unique in that it has not one but two Arabic names. The first is "Alnastle", which translates as "arrowhead". The second name of the star, "Nushbad", oddly enough, has the same meaning.

According to its physical characteristics, Alnastle is an orange giant. Its surface temperature is approximately 4760 kelvin. Does the star have satellites of the planet, like our Sun, not established. While no sign of their presence is not found.

The star of Sefdar is this Sagittarius

It is a double star, it is at a distance from the Sun about 146 light years. This Sagittarius has two names: the Arab "Sefdar" ("furious warrior") and the Latin "Ira Furoris" ("Flaming rage"). Until 1928, it was part of the constellation Telescope. Later, when the borders were revised, it was attributed to Sagittarius.