Magnitude 2.7 Apparent magnitude (V) 2.7 | Constellation Sagittarius | |
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Similar Lambda Sagittarii, Epsilon Sagittarii, Zeta Sagittarii, Gamma2 Sagittarii, Sagittarius | ||
Delta Sagittarii (δ Sagittarii, abbreviated Delta Sgr, δ Sgr), also named Kaus Media, is a double star in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.70, making it easily visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements place the distance at roughly 348 light-years (107 parsecs) from the Sun.
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Properties
Delta Sagittarii is a giant star with a stellar classification K3 III.
It has three dim companions:
It is not certain that these stars form a physical system or whether they are merely aligned by chance.
Nomenclature
δ Sagittarii (Latinised to Delta Sagittarii) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional names Kaus Media, Kaus Meridionalis, and Media, which derive from the Arabic قوس (qaws, meaning "bow") and Latin media (meaning "middle"). In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Kaus Media for this star.
In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Thani al Waridah, meaning 'second of Warida'.
In Chinese, 箕 (Jī), meaning Winnowing Basket, refers to an asterism consisting of Delta Sagittarii, Gamma Sagittarii, Epsilon Sagittarii and Eta Sagittarii. Consequently, Delta Sagittarii itself is known as 箕宿二 (Jī Sù èr, English: the Second Star of Winnowing Basket.)
This star, together with Gamma Sagittarii, Epsilon Sagittarii, Zeta Sagittarii, Lambda Sagittarii, Sigma Sagittarii, Tau Sagittarii and Phi Sagittarii, comprise the asterism 'Teapot'.
In the Hindu system of astrology, this star is also called Purvashada Nakshatra.