The third-smallest constellation, a small arrow of four stars between Altair and Albireo. Sagitta holds the globular cluster M71 and WZ Sagittae, a star that erupts every few decades.
Where Sagitta sits on the whole sky. Gold line: the ecliptic.
Swipe sideways to pan the chart.
Stars to magnitude 8, IAU boundary and stick figure, J2000. Click any object to open its page; click a neighboring constellation's name to go there. Nebula Open cluster Galaxy Planetary nebula Dark nebula Double star
Four stars make the arrow: Sham and Shakh at the feathers, Zuoqi (δ Sge) on the shaft and Telum (γ Sge) at the point. It lies about halfway between Altair and Albireo, pointing east.
To M71: halfway between δ and γ Sge.
To M27: 3.3° north of the arrow's point, in Vulpecula.
High on summer evenings
Sagitta is highest at 9 pm in September and is seen from nearly every inhabited latitude.
Altitude of the constellation's center at 9 pm local time on the 15th of each month. Computed from its position, for any longitude.
Sagitta's best target is M71
Sagitta lies on the Milky Way. One Messier object, the globular cluster M71, falls inside its boundary. It has no Caldwell objects.
On each object page: a locator like this one shows where Messier 71 sits in Sagitta. The box marks a 2.5° field, about what 10×50 binoculars show.
Turned sideways: Telum is 290 light-years away, M71 13,000
Telum is 290 light-years away, Sham 430, Shakh 440 and Zuoqi 550. WZ Sge is about 150 light-years away; M71 13,000.
Side view: distance from Earth on a logarithmic scale, each step ten times farther. The vertical position of every star and object is unchanged. Stick-figure lines join only stars with measured distances.
Brightest stars in Sagitta
Star
Designation
Mag
Distance
Spectral class
Telum
γ Sge
3.51
288 ly
K5III
Zuoqi
δ Sge
3.68
547 ly
M2II + B6
Shakh
β Sge
4.39
442 ly
G8II
Sham
α Sge
4.39
427 ly
G0II
ζ Sge
ζ Sge
5.01
255 ly
A3V
η Sge
η Sge
5.09
156 ly
K2III
Sge
Sge
5.33
953 ly
M4IIIa
Sge
Sge
5.54
431 ly
B9III
Sge
Sge
5.65
274 ly
A4V
ε Sge
ε Sge
5.67
569 ly
G8IIIvar
Every cataloged object in Sagitta
The table above is the short list. Below is everything the major catalogs place inside the IAU boundary of Sagitta. Open a catalog to see its brightest members. Each list shows up to 25; longer lists link to the full catalog page.
Messier1
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
M71
globular cluster
7.2
13,000 ly
NGC6
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
NGC 6886
planetary nebula
11.4
14,200 ly
NGC 6879
planetary nebula
12.5
25,100 ly
NGC 6838
globular cluster
13,000 ly
NGC 6839
other
-
NGC 6873
open cluster
-
NGC 6892
other
-
IC2
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
IC 4997
planetary nebula
10.5
-
IC 1312
other
-
Open clusters7
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Collinder 408
cluster
7.7
6,990 ly
Berkeley 44
cluster
8,770 ly
Berkeley 47
cluster
7,560 ly
NGC 6839
not confirmed
-
NGC 6873
not confirmed
-
Roslund 1
cluster
2,820 ly
Roslund 3
cluster
5,390 ly
Globular clusters2
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Messier 71
8.19
13,000 ly
Palomar 10
13.2
29,200 ly
Planetary nebulae39
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
IC 4997
true
10.5
-
NGC 6886
true
11.4
14,200 ly
NGC 6879
true
12.5
25,100 ly
Abell 59 (PN)
true
16.4
6,530 ly
Abell 63 (PN)
true
16.9
8,630 ly
PN G053.2-01.5
true
-
PN G053.4-01.8
true
-
PN G054.0-03.5
possible
-
IPHASX J194359.5+170901
Necklace Nebula
true
17,400 ly
PN G054.4-02.5
true
-
IPHASX J193009.3+192129
true
2,120 ly
StDr 28
likely
1,890 ly
PN G055.1-01.8
true
-
WOW 1
true
17,700 ly
PN G053.0+01.7
true
-
PN G051.0+02.8
true
-
PN G051.2+03.2
true
-
PN G051.3+01.8
true
-
PN G051.5+00.2
true
-
Kn 13
likely
17,300 ly
PN G051.7+01.3
true
-
PN G051.8+00.2
true
-
PN G052.0+02.7
true
-
PN G052.2+07.6
true
-
PN G052.9+02.7
true
-
The 25 brightest of 39 in Sagitta
Sharpless H II regions3
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Sh2-80
ring nebula
-
Sh2-82
Little Cocoon Nebula
HII region
2,540 ly
Sh2-84
HII region
-
Lynds bright nebulae4
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
LBN 127
emission
-
LBN 128
emission
2,540 ly
LBN 129
Little Cocoon Nebula
emission
2,540 ly
LBN 131
emission
-
Van den Bergh reflection nebulae1
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
vdB 127
reflection
3.68
594 ly
Lynds dark nebulae27
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
LDN 709
2
-
LDN 713
2
-
LDN 714
2
-
LDN 715
2
-
LDN 716
2
-
LDN 717
2
-
LDN 718
2
-
LDN 719
2
-
LDN 721
2
-
LDN 722
2
-
LDN 723
2
-
LDN 724
2
-
LDN 725
2
-
LDN 727
2
-
LDN 728
2
-
LDN 729
2
-
LDN 730
2
-
LDN 731
2
-
LDN 732
2
-
LDN 733
2
-
LDN 737
2
-
LDN 743
2
-
LDN 745
2
-
LDN 747
2
-
LDN 753
2
-
The 25 brightest of 27 in Sagitta
Supernova remnants4
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
G53.4+0.0
-
3C 400.2
-
G54.1+0.3
II
20,200 ly
G54.4-0.3
HC40
-
Carbon stars2
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
X Sge
C6 (N3)
7.00
3,721 ly
BF Sge
C4 (N3)
8.50
4,433 ly
Exoplanets1
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Babylonia
gas giant
8.97
355 ly
Nearby stars (Gliese)10
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Gl 779
15 Sagittae
7
5.80
58 ly
Gl 746
7
6.08
69 ly
Gl 783.2A
7
7.34
67 ly
Gl 745B
7
10.76
29 ly
Gl 745A
7
10.77
29 ly
Wo 9652A
7
11.56
59 ly
NN 4110
7
13.09
68 ly
Wo 9652B
7
13.27
59 ly
GJ 1232
7
13.52
34 ly
Gl 783.2B
7
13.94
67 ly
Neutron stars1
Designation
Name
Type
Mag
Distance
Black Widow Pulsar
millisecond pulsar
20.
-
A recurring dwarf nova
WZ Sagittae. A white dwarf pulling gas from a tiny companion; the gas builds up and flares. Outbursts were seen in 1913, 1946, 1978 and 2001.
M71. For decades astronomers argued whether M71 was a dense open cluster or a sparse globular. Studies of its stars' ages and chemistry since the 1970s settled it as a globular.
Sagitta video tour
Sagitta Constellation: Find These Deep Space Objects · Watch on YouTube
An arrow of the gods
Sagitta is one of Ptolemy's 48 ancient constellations. The Greeks told it as the arrow Heracles shot at the eagle tormenting Prometheus, or Apollo's arrow, or Eros's. In Chinese astronomy its stars are Zuoqi (左旗), the Left Flag.
Constellations bordering Sagitta
Sagitta shares its IAU boundary with 4 constellations.
