γ Sagittae

Gamma Sagittae is an orange giant, and the brightest star of this constellation. It forms the tip of the arrow which points northeastward.

The constellation is 10º N of Altair (alpha Aquilae). Or centre beta Cygni (Albireo) and move south two binocular fields to the ‘coathanger’ of Vulpecula, then one binocular field east: binoculars.

At the western edge is alpha and beta, both yellow giants which form the base of the arrow, while midway between delta and gamma is M71.

M71 has been an anomaly, not clearly either an open cluster nor a globular, although it is now usually called a globular cluster. Found in a rich star field, this cluster has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.0, binoculars reveal no more than a hazy spot; medium telescopes resolve many of the core stars.

In this field of view is zeta Sge (Struve 2585) with a nice colour contrast—yellow and blue, AB-C: 5.0, 9.0; 311º, 8.0".

Here also is S Sge, a Cepheid variable. Usually a class G supergiant, it fluctuates between a barely-visible 5.5 and a just-below-naked-eye visibility 6.1 over a period of 8.382 days.

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