<P> To complete the teapot metaphor, under good conditions, a particularly dense area of the Milky Way can be seen rising in a north - westerly arc above the spout, like a puff of steam rising from a boiling kettle . </P> <P> The constellation as a whole is often depicted as having the rough appearance of a stick - figure archer drawing its bow, with the fainter stars providing the outline of the horse's body . Sagittarius famously points its arrow at the heart of Scorpius, represented by the reddish star Antares, as the two constellations race around the sky . Following the direct line formed by Delta Sagittarii (δ Sgr) and Gamma2 Sagittarii (γ Sgr) leads nearly directly to Antares . Fittingly, Gamma2 Sagittarii is Alnasl, the Arabic word for "arrowhead", and Delta Sagittarii is called Kaus Media, the "center of the bow," from which the arrow protrudes . Kaus Media bisects Lambda Sagittarii (λ Sgr) and Epsilon Sagittarii (ε Sgr), whose names Kaus Borealis and Kaus Australis refer to the northern and southern portions of the bow, respectively . </P> <P> α Sgr (Rukbat, meaning "the archer's knee") despite having the "alpha" designation, is not the brightest star of the constellation, having a magnitude of only 3.96 (not shown on the main map as it is located below the map's southeastern corner, north is up). Instead, the brightest star is Epsilon Sagittarii (ε Sgr) ("Kaus Australis," or "southern part of the bow"), at magnitude 1.85 . </P> <P> Sigma Sagittarii (σ Sgr) ("Nunki") is the constellation's second - brightest star at magnitude 2.08 . Nunki is a B2V star approximately 260 light years away . "Nunki" is a Babylonian name of uncertain origin, but thought to represent the sacred Babylonian city of Eridu on the Euphrates, which would make Nunki the oldest star name currently in use . </P>

Names of the stars in the constellation sagittarius