Kaus Australis

Set at a southern declination of −34° in the constellation Sagittarius, Kaus Australis marks the base of the archer's bow. Designated Epsilon Sagittarii, it is the brightest star of Sagittarius, a blue-white B-type star with a nearly neutral B–V index of −0.031. It appears at magnitude 1.79 from a distance of 143 light-years, and its absolute magnitude of −1.42 reflects an intrinsic brightness above the Sun's. From the southern hemisphere the star rides high toward the dense star clouds of the Milky Way's centre, which lie in the direction of Sagittarius.