When is the best time to observe Albaldah?

Albaldah is best observed from June through August, with peak visibility during July when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is Albaldah located in the sky?

Albaldah lies in the constellation Sagittarius at right ascension 19h 10m and declination -21° 01′.

What telescope do I need to split Albaldah?

Splitting Albaldah requires an aperture of roughly 200 mm or larger — the components are separated by about 0.1″ at magnitudes near 2.9. Larger apertures and steady seeing help resolve the pair cleanly.

Albaldah — Double Star in Sagittarius

HIP 94141; Pi Sagittarii; 41 Sagittarii

Magnitude 2.9^m DoubleStar Sagittarius (Sgr) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan

About Albaldah

Description

Albaldah is a yellow-white giant of spectral type F2II at magnitude 2.89 in Sagittarius. Located about 440 light-years from Earth, it has a luminosity of roughly 4,100 times solar. It lies in the upper part of the Teapot asterism, near the lid.

Observing Tips

Albaldah lies near the top of the Sagittarius Teapot, between the lid and the handle. It is a warm white star in the rich Milky Way star clouds. Best observed July through September when Sagittarius is at its highest.

History

The name Albaldah comes from the Arabic 'al-balda,' meaning 'the town' or 'the district,' referring to an asterism in Arabic tradition. It lies near the densest part of the Milky Way visible from northern latitudes.

Fun Facts

The region around Albaldah is one of the densest areas of the Milky Way visible to the naked eye. Binoculars reveal an astonishing wealth of star clouds, clusters, and nebulae in every direction from this star.

Observe

1Physical Properties

Magnitude 2.89

Spectral Type F2II-III bright giant

Star Color Yellow-white (B-V 0.35)

Distance 507 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 19h 09m 45.8s

Dec -21° 01' 25.0"

Constellation Sagittarius (Sgr)

HR 7264

HIP 94141

HD 178524

SAO 187756

Bayer Pi

Flamsteed 41 Sgr

SIMBAD Wikipedia

3How easy to spot?

Equipment	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
Naked eye Naked eye	Easy	Easy	Easy
50 mm finder 50mm finder	Easy	Easy	Easy
150 mm telescope 150mm scope	Easy	Easy	Easy

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

4Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Jun – Aug (peak: Jul)

5Multiple Star System Triple

Components 3 (triple)

Component IDs AB

Separation 0.1″

Companion Mag 3.6

Position Angle 179°

Star Colors A: Yellow-white

Discoverer FIN 311

Notes

AB, combined mag., colors, sep. 0.093". Third component 6.0v at 0.4".

Separation over time

Measured 1936 → 1989 (53 y)

Separation drift 0.10" → 0.10" (+0.00")

Rate +0.0000" / y

PA drift 152° → 179° (+27°, +0.509°/y)

Essentially fixed on human timescales — the same view your grandchildren will see.

Measured from the WDS observational archive. No orbital solution has been derived — most likely the period is too long to fit an orbit to the available measurement arc.