Sagittarius

Teapot

Sagittarius Teapot

common observer pattern · high confidence

Sagittarius becomes a squat teapot pouring steam into the Milky Way. From Alberta it stays low, so choose a clear southern horizon and transparent summer night.

Central RA: 18^h 39^m 40.1^s
Central Dec: −27° 41′ 29″
Brightest member: V 1.85
Best months from 50°N: June–September evenings
Suggested instrument: naked-eye
Approx. span: 14.1°

Finder context

This wider chart is deliberately schematic: it uses nearby bright-star context and boxes the asterism’s member-star footprint, but it does not draw official constellation boundaries or promise horizon/season precision.

Framing: Approximate member-star span: 14.1°; use at least 19.7° field for context.

Observing and imaging

Naked eye

Primary naked-eye pattern; suburban skies should show the main stars unless the description notes a low horizon or dark-sky need.

Binoculars

Binoculars are optional: use them to check colours, nearby doubles, or richer Milky Way background.

Small scope

A telescope is usually too narrow for the whole shape; use it after the pattern has guided you to a target.

Imaging

Frame as a wide-field scene in/near Sagittarius; a field of view around 20° keeps context without claiming exact constellation boundaries.

Observability from your latitude

Uses this asterism’s centroid RA/Dec: transit altitude, hours above 20°, and a month-scale evening window. Default is Edmonton-ish 50°N.

Latitude 50°NMonth

Naked-eye visibility by sky class

Approximate limiting magnitudes: Bortle 3 ≈ V 6.6, Bortle 5 ≈ V 5.6, Bortle 7 ≈ V 4.6. The shape is counted recognisable when at least 70% of defining stars clear the limit.

Bortle 3: 8/8 stars — fully visibleBortle 5: 8/8 stars — fully visibleBortle 7: 8/8 stars — fully visible

Member stars

Name	Bayer / Flamsteed	HR	RA J2000	Dec J2000	V mag
Kaus Australis	20Eps Sgr	HR 6879	18^h 24^m 10.3^s	−34° 23′ 05″	1.85
Nunki	34Sig Sgr	HR 7121	18^h 55^m 15.9^s	−26° 17′ 48″	2.02
Ascella	38Zet Sgr	HR 7194	19^h 02^m 36.7^s	−29° 52′ 49″	2.60
Kaus Media	19Del Sgr	HR 6859	18^h 20^m 59.7^s	−29° 49′ 41″	2.70
Kaus Borealis	22Lam Sgr	HR 6913	18^h 27^m 58.2^s	−25° 25′ 18″	2.81
Phi Sagittarii	27Phi Sgr	HR 7039	18^h 45^m 39.4^s	−26° 59′ 27″	3.17
Tau Sagittarii	40Tau Sgr	HR 7234	19^h 06^m 56.4^s	−27° 40′ 14″	3.32
13Mu Sgr	13Mu Sgr	HR 6812	18^h 13^m 45.8^s	−21° 03′ 32″	3.86

Source and confidence

common observer pattern; high confidence. Commonly used constellation-part or seasonal guide-pattern name, with member-star positions plotted from BSC5.

Citations

Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed.: Hoffleit, D. & Warren, W.H. Jr. (1991). Positions, V magnitudes, Bayer/Flamsteed identifiers. source
Star Tales: Ridpath, I. Constellation and asterism notes used to cross-check common sky-pattern names. source
The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues: ESA SP-1200 (1997). Used as the modern astrometric reference named by the atlas; the MVP pages expose BSC5 J2000 fields for the plotted bright-star members.