The Bow and Arrow of Sagittarius
Above: The bow and arrow of Sagittarius, with the stars of the Teapot asterism circled in orange, seen on a detail from John Flamsteed’s Atlas Coelestis (1729). Click for an enlargement.
The bow and arrow
The bow and arrow of the archer were formed by the nine stars Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), Epsilon (ε), Lambda (λ), Mu (μ), Phi (φ), Sigma (σ), Tau (τ), and Zeta (ζ) Sagittarii.
The teapot
Eight of these stars, circled in orange on the chart above, outline the present-day asterism of the Teapot: Phi, Sigma, Tau, and Zeta are the Teapot’s handle, Lambda marks the top of its lid, with Delta, Epsilon, and Gamma forming the triangular spout.
The Milk Dipper
A subset of five stars – Lambda (λ), Phi (φ), Sigma (σ), Tau (τ), and Zeta (ζ) Sagittarii – form a ladle shape called the Milk Dipper.
