Star profile
Zeta Sagitta
What is Zeta Sagitta
Zeta Sagittae is a multiple star in the small constellation of the Arrow, tucked just beneath Cygnus. At its heart sits an inner pair of two nearly identical white stars chasing each other on a strongly elongated 23.2-year orbit, so close together that on instrumental scales they are barely a hand-span apart. Sagitta is one of the tiniest figures in the sky, yet also among the oldest: it already appears in Ptolemy's catalogues in the second century.
Where it is and when to see it
Zeta Sagitta lies in the northern 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 58° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 68° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 37° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 71° S.
It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 14 stars of Sagitta in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma Sagitta, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 260 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on Zeta Sagitta
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
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 Zeta Sagitta
- Constellation
- Sagitta
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.01
- Distance
- 255.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 297.244° · Dec 19.142°
- Catalogue
- HIP 97496 · HD 187362
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Sagitta
Sagitta has 14 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Gamma Sagitta3.51
- Delta Sagitta3.68
- ShamAlpha Sagitta4.39
- Beta Sagitta4.39
- Eta Sagitta5.09
- 13 Sagitta5.33
- 11 Sagitta5.54
- 1 Sagitta5.65