Rukbat – α Sagittarii (Alpha Sagittarii)

Alpha Sagittarii is a blue dwarf belonging to the spectral class B8V. It has an apparent
magnitude of 3.97 and is approximately 170 light years distant. The star is believed to
have a debris disk, like Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. What is
atypical for a B8V class star is that Alpha Sagittarii is emitting an excess flux of X-rays,
possibly because its companion star is still in the pre-main sequence stage.

Alpha Sagittarii shares its traditional name, Rukbat, with the star Delta
Cassiopeiae (now formally known as Ruchbah). The name is derived from the Arabic
word rukbah, which means “knee.”

In fiction, Rukbat is probably best known from Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of

Pern series of novels and stories. Pern, the planet on which the action takes place,
orbits Rukbat, which is described as a class G yellow star in the novels.

Arkab – β Sagittarii (Beta Sagittarii)

Beta Sagittarii is a designation shared by two star systems, Beta-1 Sagittarii and Beta-
2 Sagittarii, which lie 0.36° apart in the sky. The system is also known by its traditional
name, Arkab, from the Arabic carqūb, which means “hamstring.”

Beta-1 Sagittarii, or Arkab Prior (prior because it leads Beta-2 across the sky), is a
double star approximately 378 light years distant. It belongs to the spectral type B9V.
The primary component, Arkab Prior A, is a B9 type main sequence dwarf with an
apparent magnitude of 3.96, while the companion star, Arkab Prior B, is a class A3
dwarf with an apparent magnitude of 7.4. The stars are 28 arc seconds apart.

Beta-2 Sagittarii, or Arkab Posterior (because it trails after Beta-1), is a giant star
belonging to the spectral type F2III. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.27 and is
approximately 137 light years distant.

Ascella – ζ Sagittarii (Zeta Sagittarii)

Zeta Sagittarii is another binary star in Sagittarius. It is the third brightest star in the
constellation, after Epsilon and Sigma Sagittarii. Its traditional name, Ascella, means
“armpit” in Latin. The star is approximately 89.1 light years distant from Earth.

Zeta Sagittarii consists of a class A2 giant star with an apparent magnitude of 3.26
and an A4 type subgiant star with an apparent magnitude of 3.37. The binary system
has a combined apparent magnitude of 2.60. The two stars are separated by 13.4
astronomical units (AU). Ascella also has a dim companion 75 arc seconds away. It is
a 10th magnitude star.