The Carina–Sagittarius Arm (also known as the Sagittarius Arm or Sagittarius–Carina Arm, labeled -I) is generally thought to be a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Each spiral arm is a long, diffuse curving streamer of stars that radiates from the Galactic Center. These gigantic structures are often composed of billions of stars and thousands of gas clouds. The Carina–Sagittarius Arm is one of the most pronounced arms in our galaxy as many HII regions, young stars and giant molecular clouds are concentrated in it.
The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, consisting of a central crossbar and bulge from which two major and several minor spiral arms radiate outwards. This arm lies between two major spiral arms, the Scutum–Centaurus Arm, the near part of which is visible looking inward, i.e. toward the Galactic Center with the rest beyond the galactic central bulge, and the Perseus Arm, similar in size and shape but locally much closer looking outward, away from the bright, immediately obvious extent of the Milky Way in a perfect observational sky. It is named for its proximity to the Sagittarius and Carina constellations as seen in the night sky from Earth, in the direction of the Galactic Center.
