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Sagitta

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	Sagitta
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	Topics Sagitta Topic Home Notable features Here are some of Sagitta's brightest stars a SgeAlpha Sagittae Alpha Sagittae is a star in the constellation Sagitta.... : also known as ShamSham Sham may refer to:* A thoroughbred racehorse, which came in 2nd in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, after Secretariat.... , this yellow bright giant star of spectral classStellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associ... G1 II (with 4.37m) lies at a distance of 610 light-years and together with ß Sge (also 4.37m) forms either the feathers of the shaft or the two-pointed arrow once used in the Roman army. ? Sge: this cool giant (M0 III, 3.47m) represents with the stars d Sge and e Sge the shaft. It lies at a distance of merely 170 light-years. d Sge: M2 II+A0 V (suspected visual double; probably single image, composite spectrum), 3.82m e Sge: G8 III, 5.66m, multiple star (4 components; component B is optical) ? Sge: this star of spectral class K2 III with 5.1m belongs to the Hyades moving groupMoving group In astronomy, a moving group is a number of stars considered together because they share the same age, metallicity, and kine... . Notable deep sky objects M71: this object is a very loose globular clusterGlobular cluster Summary A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite.... mistaken for quite some time for a dense open clusterOpen cluster An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud, and are still... . It lies at a distance of about 13,000 light-years from EarthEarth Earth is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest.... and was first discovered by the French astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in the year 1745 or 1746. History In the past Sham designated the whole constellation instead of only a SgeAlpha Sagittae Alpha Sagittae is a star in the constellation Sagitta.... . This constellation is one of those cases where Johann BayerJohann Bayer Johann Bayer was a German astronomer and lawyer.... failed to name the stars in the correct order, in this case even degrading the brightest star to mere ?-status. Another example for such misjudgement is the constellation SagittariusSagittarius (constellation) For the astrological sign, see Sagittarius.... . Mythology Although Sagitta doesn't contain any bright stars, many cultures have seen an arrow in it , among them the PersiansPersian people The Persians are an Iranian people who speak the Persian language and share a common culture and history.... , Hebrews, GreeksGreeks Overview The Greeks are an ethnic group mostly found in the southern Balkan peninsula of southeastern Europe and are primarily assoc... and RomanAncient Rome Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of the city-state of Rome, founded in the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th cent... s. So there are various stories trying to explain the meaning of Sagitta. The two most important ones both take into account the neighbouring constellations HerculesHercules (constellation) Hercules is the fifth largest of the 88 modern constellations.... , which had in earlier times been identified as a stag, (to the west) and AquilaAquila (constellation) Aquila, is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, also mentioned by Eudoxus and Aratus.... (to the east). According to the first one the TitanTitan Titan may mean:... PrometheusPrometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus, or Satan' is the Titan chiefly honored for stealing fire from the gods in the stalk of... stole the fire from the Gods and brought it to the mortals, thereby irritating Zeus so much that he was chained to a rock where an eagle (represented by Aquila) ate his liver each day; as Prometheus was immortal his liver grew back each day, and the eagle would return and eat it again... Herakles (identical to the Roman HerculesHercules Hercules is the Latin name used in Rome for a hero corresponding to the Greek mythological hero Heracles , the Roman n... ) saved him from this never ending punishment during one of his Twelve Labours by killing the bird with an arrow shot and then setting him free. Another story relates how Herakles killed the Stymphalian Birds, that terrorized ArcadiaArcadia Overview Arcadia or Arkada is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus.... , with a rattle. The Stymphalian Birds themselves were identified with the constellations AquilaAquila (constellation) Aquila, is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, also mentioned by Eudoxus and Aratus.... , CygnusCygnus (constellation) Cygnus is a northern constellation.... and LyraLyra Lyra is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the Intern... . Sagitta was further interpreted by some as CupidCupid In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of erotic love.... 's Arrow or as an arrow shot by SagittariusSagittarius (constellation) For the astrological sign, see Sagittarius.... at ScorpiusScorpius Scorpius is one of the constellations of the zodiac.... . Other interpretations considered the arrow to have been shot by CentaurusCentaurus Centaurus is a bright constellation of the southern hemisphere.... at Aquila, since Centaurus faces the correct direction and is at an appropriate angle to the arrow, whereas Sagittarius is immediately below it facing in the opposing direction (i.e. towards Centaurus). As a result of the interpretations where Centaurus shot the arrow, may have come the myth in which ChironChiron In Greek mythology, Chiron — sometimes transliterated Cheiron or rarely Kiron — was held as the superlative cen... (who was usually identified as Centaurus), having been painfully wounded by Herakles, gives up his immortality to rid himself of the pain, and takes the place of Prometheus, Herakles/Chiron then killing Aquila so that Chiron doesn't suffer as Prometheus did. As such, together with LupusLupus (constellation) Lupus is a southern constellation.... , this may have formed the basis of the tale of the Erymanthian BoarErymanthian Boar In Greek mythology, the Erymanthian Boar is remembered in connection with The Twelve Labours, in which Heracles, the enemy o... (which was one of Herakles' labours). See also SagittariusSagittarius (constellation) For the astrological sign, see Sagittarius.... External links