Sagittarius Arm

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Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms

The Sagittarius Arm (also known as Sagittarius-Carina Arm; labeled "-I") is one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way, the galaxy that contains the solar system and planet Earth. Each spiral arm contains many billions of stars.

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, which consists of a central crossbar from which several spiral arms radiate outward. The Saggitarius Arm's innermost end connects to one of the ends of this central bar, making it one of the two major spiral arms of the galaxy. The other is the Cygnus Arm.

The dense, inner arm of Sagittarius is located between the Scutum-Crux Arm and the Orion Arm. It is named for its proximity to the Sagittarius constellation as seen in the night sky from Earth, in the direction of the galactic center.

The Sagittarius Arm is divided into two parts. Curving outward from the galaxy's central bar is the Sagittarius Arm (Sagittarius bar), which further outward becomes the Carina arm.