Constellations

The Deep Photographic Guide to the
Constellations

The constellation of the month
JULY

Sagittarius

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Names:

Latin: Sagittarius (Sgr)
English: Archer Spanish: Sagitario
German: Schütze French: Sagittaire

Shown is the constellation of Sagittarius with its rich milky way starfields. The constellation outlines resemble nicely a tea pot (see lines). For mid northern hemisphere observers Sagittarius never climbs high above the southern horizon. The photo was taken from the Schwäbische Alb, Germany, and shows the close horizon with some light pollution of remote towns. Neighboring constellations are Scorpius to the west (right), Scutum and Serpens to the north (top), and Capricornus to the east (left).

In mid of July Sagittarius culminates at about 23:00 LT (11:00 pm). The declination of the constellation borders ranges from -45 to -12 degrees. Brightest star is Kaus Australis, epsilon Sgr, seen at the lower right of the tea pot (m(v)=1.8 mag).

The galactic center lies in the lower half at the right image border. Therefore a lot of galactic deep sky objects join the field of Sagittarius. Most of them are listed in the famous Messier catalogue and can be found well with a pair of binoculars or even by naked eye (under very good sky conditions).

© all photographs taken by Till Credner and Sven Kohle