Star profile
Ascella
Zeta Sagittarii · Sagittarius
What is Ascella
Ascella occupies Sagittarius's armpit, exactly where the archer draws his bow toward the galactic heart. A white A-class star at 88 light-years, she is visually steeped in the densest region of the Milky Way, where dust and the millions of suns of the central bulge form a backdrop of diffuse light. Her Latin name, 'armpit', proves that astronomy has never stopped describing the sky in the language of the human body.
Where it is and when to see it
Ascella lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is July, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 9° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 19° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 86° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 60° N.
It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 117 stars of Sagittarius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kaus Australis, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 88 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Ascella
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.60
- Distance
- 88.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 285.653° · Dec -29.880°
- Catalogue
- HIP 93506 · HD 176687
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Sagittarius
Sagittarius has 117 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Kaus AustralisEpsilon Sagittarii1.79
- NunkiSigma Sagittarii2.05
- Kaus MediaDelta Sagittarii2.72
- Kaus BorealisLambda Sagittarii2.82
- AlbaldahPi Sagittarii2.88
- AlnaslGamma 2 Sagittarii2.98
- Eta Sagittarii3.10
- Phi Sagittarii3.17