Star profile
Arkab Posterior
Beta 2 Sagittarii · Sagittarius
What is Arkab Posterior
Arkab Posterior is the «rear» of the Arkab pair in Sagittarius; the name, in Arabic, refers to the tendon joining the archer's leg to his bow. It is a yellow-white star 134 light-years away, part of a double asterism the naked eye barely separates. Its light crossed space during the entire period in which photography travelled from the daguerreotype to the digital sensor.
Where it is and when to see it
Arkab Posterior 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Arkab Posterior
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.27
- Distance
- 134.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 290.805° · Dec -44.800°
- Catalogue
- HIP 95294 · HD 181623
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
- AscellaZeta Sagittarii2.60
- Arkab PriorBeta 1 Sagittarii3.96
- RukbatAlpha Sagittarii3.96
- Iota Sagittarii4.12
- Theta 1 Sagittarii4.37
- 62 Sagittarii4.43