The ARCHER (Sagittarius)
Scouting the Stars with Mr. R.

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Mr. R.

 
 
The ARCHER (Sagittarius)

 
Low on the southern horizon we can find the Archer directly to the left of the Scorpion.  Mythology says he has an arrow aimed at the Scorpion's heart just in case he tries to sting Hercules.  Many of the lower stars fade away in the horizon, but there are a number of bright stars to help us find it, like Nunki and Kaus Astralis.

 
Once these stars have us oriented in the sky, we can trace the rest of the Archer.  Kaus Astralis is at the bottom-inside part of the bow, while Nunki is located in his neck.  Now trace out the rest of his bow & arrow, and then his body & head.  Most of his lower body will be hard to see but try looking for the feather in his hat (top of his head).

 
 
Since it lies so low on the horizon, most astronomers just locate the teapot.  Nunki is the top of the handle and Kaus Astralis is at the bottom-front of the pot.  I usually start by finding the middle pot and its lid, add on the handle, and finally the spout.  Once found, it is easy to spot from then on.  This area of the sky is rich in deep sky objects, like the trifid nebula (the red haze above the spout), star clusters, etc.

 
 

Photo credit: John & Janet's (Amateur Astronomy)

 

 
This creature was a famed centaur in Greek mythology.  They were rude, untrustworthy, cheating, violent, deceptive and they drank too much.  But one centaur named Chiron was different.  Chiron was educated by the Sun-god Apollo and Diana, Goddess of the Moon and Wild Animals.  Chiron was as kind, gentle, and wise as the other centaurs were mean, fierce, and unthinking.  Chiron's many skills and wisdom became so widely known that children of many a famous king were sent to him to be taught all manner of skills.  Among his pupils were the mighty Hercules and Aesculapius, who became so skilled at medicine. 
    As the story goes, Hercules had traveled far one day and was very thirsty so he asked a friend to open a jar of the excellent wine kept in his house but belonging jointly to all the centaurs.  His friend did, and when the aroma of this fine wine flowed out over the countryside the other centaurs furiously galloped up to the house and demanded to know how he had dared open the wine without first consulting them. 
    The centaurs began to attack him and Hercules.  This was a mistake,  for Hercules soon settled matters by killing many of them and driving the rest from the countryside, telling them never to return.  Chiron was nearby observing the event, although he has not taken part.  Although Hercules knew Chiron, and deeply respected him, he could not recognize his friend from a great distance and accidentally shot him with one of his poisoned arrows.  Seeing these events and knowing of his son Hercules' sadness, Zeus gave the good centaur a resting place among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius, the Archer. 
According to another myth, Sagittarius is poised and ready to shooting an arrow through the heart-star of Scorpio if he tried to do any harm to anyone.
 

OTHER HELPFUL LINK TO "CONSTELLATION" INFORMATION


Return to: [5-Galaxy & Constellations]
[Archer] [Big Bear] [Crab] [Dragon] [Eagle] [Goat] [Harp] [Hercules] [Herdsman] [King] [Little Bear]
[Lion] [Northern Crown] [Scales] [Scorpion] [Swan] [Twins] [Virgin] ["W"]

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Webpage updated November 2003
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