Sargas: how to find it and when to see it

Sargas ranks 38th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.86, in the constellation Scorpius.

You can see it from anywhere south of 47° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in July.

Sargas at a glance

Constellation
Scorpius
Magnitude
1.86
Rank on our list
38 of 74
Hemisphere
Southern
Right ascension
17 h 37 min
Declination
43.0° south
Visible from
south of 47° N
Never sets
south of 47° S
Best evening
July 31
Same constellation
Antares, Shaula, Dschubba, Larawag

Where Sargas is in the sky

Sargas sits 43.0° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 17 h 37 min.

Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.

When and where to see Sargas

From the northern hemisphere

From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Sargas rises in the south-east, climbs to 7° above the horizon in the south and sets in the south-west.

It never climbs more than 7° above the horizon, so you need a clear, low view to the south to spot it.

From the southern hemisphere

From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Sargas rises in the south-east, climbs to 81° above the horizon in the south and sets in the south-west.

It's in the evening sky from April to November, and it's highest in the evening around July 31, in winter.

How high Sargas climbs from each latitude

The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.

How high Sargas climbs from each latitude
LatitudeVisibilityHighest pointEvening sky
60° NNever risesBelow the horizonNone
50° NNever risesBelow the horizonNone
40° NRises and sets7° in the southNone
30° NRises and sets17° in the southJul to Aug
20° NRises and sets27° in the southJun to Sep
EquatorRises and sets47° in the southMay to Oct
20° SRises and sets67° in the southMay to Oct
34° SRises and sets81° in the southApr to Nov
45° SRises and sets88° in the northApr to Nov

Keep the sky of a night that matters

Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Sargas was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.

Open the star map editor

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