It is one of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, one of the oldest drawn in the sky. Its most characteristic feature is the group of stars that inhabits its interior.
 
 The ancient Arabs, good astronomers, believed that the western triangle was a group of ostriches that were going to drink water from the Milky Way, and that the eastern quadrilateral were the same birds when they returned to freshen up.
 
 Sagittarius is generally believed to be a centaur - half man, half horse - and is identified with Chiron. He was the son of Cronos and Filira. A centaur differed from the rest of his species because of his great wisdom. His father passed on knowledge of medicine, astronomy and music to him. Chirom took care of the education of several princes and heroes, like Achilles, Theseus, Ulysses and Jason.
 
 But when beside Hercules, he fought against the centaurs, he was accidentally hit by an arrow shot by the hero. Suffering terrible pains but prevented from dying, Chiron yielded his immortality to Prometheus and Zeus placed him in the Zodiac, where he is the constellation of Sagittarius.
 
 Some say that Chiron created the constellation, to guide Jason and the Argonauts when sailing in Argos. It is a much older constellation than the Centaur, from the southern hemisphere.
 
 Among the Arabs, Kaus among the Syrians, Keshta; All of these words mean bow (arrow). Probably of Sumerian origin, in Babylon, Persia and Egypt, Sagittarius was an archer god with human head and bust and horse body. This constellation had many names. Among the Persians it was called Kaman and Nimasp.
 Sagittarius is in the Milky Way, towards the center of the galaxy, where the strip is wider, although it appears crossed by dark lines due to the presence of dust. It hides a treasure trove of globular and galactic groups, while also being rich in bright and dark nebulae.