Phi Sagittarii Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more)

Phi Sagittarii is a giant star located in the constellation of Sagittarius, Half-Man/Half-Horse Archer. Phi Sagittarii is a major star and forms part of the constellation.

Based on the spectral type (B8.5III), Phi Sagittarii colour is blue, which means that the star is one of the hottest stars in the Universe, hotter than our star.

Phi Sagittarii temperature is in the range of 10,000 to 30,000 Kelvin. Phi Sagittarii effective temperature is 6,602 Kelvin which is hotter than the Sun's effective temperature, which is 5,777 Kelvin. Based on a parallax of 13.63, Phi Sagittarii distance from Earth can be calculated at being 239.30 light years away or 70.72 parsecs.

Phi Sagittarii is a naked-eye star, so you don't need a telescope or binoculars when you look up on a clear night. The lower the magnitude, the easier it will be to see it.

Location

The location of the Phi Sagittarii in the night sky is determined by the right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.). These are equivalent to the Longitude and Latitude on Earth. The Right Ascension (Longitude) is expressed in time (hh:mm:ss) and is how far the star is along Earth's celestial equator. If the R.A. is positive, then it's eastwards and vice versa.

The Declination (Latitude) is how far north or south the object is compared to the celestial equator and is expressed in degrees. If the value is positive, it is north of the celestial equator. For Phi Sagittarii, the location is 18h 45m 39.35 and -26° 59` 26.8 .

Based on the location of Sagittarius, Phi Sagittarii can be located in the southern hemisphere of the celestial sky. The celestial hemisphere is equivalent to the hemispheres on Earth. Phi Sagittarii is on the Ecliptic. The Ecliptic is the path that the Earth takes as it orbits the Sun. As the Earth is titled, we therefore have Celestial and Ecliptic hemispheres and they can be different for a star.

Physical Properties

Spectral Type

Phi Sagittarii spectral type of B8.5III which means its colour and type is blue giant star. There is no relationship between colour and size. For example, a red star can be large or small. Small stars are more energy efficient than larger stars and live longer.

Phi Sagittarii Luminosity

Luminosity is the amount of energy a star pumps out relative to the amount that our star, the Sun, gives out. Our star, the Sun's value is 1. Phi Sagittarii Luminosity figure of 302.416 comes from the Vizier online catalogue. The star generates more energy than our star.

Phi Sagittarii Size (Radius)

Phi Sagittarii radius has been calculated as being 13.29 times bigger than the Sun. The Sun's radius is 695,800km, therefore, the Phi Sagittarii radius is an estimated 9,247,182.km. If you need the star's diameter, you just need to multiply the radius by 2.

Magnitude (Apparent / Absolute / Visible)

A number represents a star’s magnitude, whether apparent/visual or absolute. The smaller the number, the brighter the star is. The Sun is the brightest star and therefore has the lowest of all magnitudes, -26.74. A faint star will have a high number.

Phi Sagittarii apparent magnitude is 3.17, which is a measure of the star's brightness as seen from Earth. Apparent Magnitude is also known as Visual Magnitude.

If you use the 1997 parallax value, Phi Sagittarii' absolute magnitude is -1.08. If you use the 2007 parallax value, Phi Sagittarii' absolute magnitude is -1.16. Absolute Magnitude is the star's apparent magnitude from 10 parsecs or 32.6 light years. The magnitude assumes nothing is between the object and the viewer, such as dust clouds. To compare different stars' actual brightness, you would best use Absolute rather than Apparent Magnitude.

Phi Sagittarii is visible from Earth without needing binoculars or a telescope. The lower the Apparent Magnitude of a star or other object is, the easier it is to see in the night sky. An object with a magnitude greater than 6.5 cannot be seen without a telescope or other device.