Capricornus
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Capricornus is a faint zodiac constellation located in the southern sky. Its name means “the goat” in Latin. The constellation represents a sea goat, a mythical creature associated with the god Enki in Babylonian mythology and later with the Greek deity Pan. The constellation is represented by the symbol ♑
Like other zodiac constellations, Capricornus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in his Almagest in the 2nd century CE. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Pan, the god of the wild, and with the goat Amalthea, who suckled Zeus when he was very young.
Capricornus constellation is home to the eclipsing binary system Delta Capricorni (Deneb Algedi), the multiple star systems Beta Capricorni (Dabih) and Alpha Capricorni (Algedi), and the white giant Nashira (Gamma Capricorni). Notable deep sky objects in the constellation include the globular clusters Messier 30 and Palomar 12, and the compact galaxy group HCG 87
FACT
Capricornus is the 40th biggest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 414 square degrees. It lies in the fourth quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +60° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Aquarius, Aquila, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus, and Sagittarius. The best time of year to see Capricornus is during the month of September.
The constellation name Capricornus is pronounced /ˌkæprɪˈkɔːrnəs/. In English, the constellation is known as the Sea Goat. The genitive form of Capricornus, used in star names, is Capricorni (pronunciation: /ˌkæprɪˈkɔːrnaɪ/). The three-letter abbreviation, adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, is Cap.
Capricornus belongs to the zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Aquarius, and Pisces.
Capricornus has five stars with known planets and contains one Messier object, the globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099). The constellation is home to three stars located within 10 parsecs (32.62 light years) of the Sun. The brightest star in Capricornus is Deneb Algedi, Delta Capricorni, with an apparent magnitude of 2.81. It is the only star in the constellation brighter than magnitude 3.00.
The constellation contains five named stars. The star names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Algedi, Alshat, Dabih, Deneb Algedi, and Nashira.
There are five meteor showers associated with Capricornus: the Alpha Capricornids, the Chi Capricornids, the Sigma Capricornids, the Tau Capricornids, and the Capricorniden-Sagittarids.
Capricornus can be found using the bright stars of the constellations Pegasus, Aquila, Sagittarius and Piscis Austrinus, but since it is very faint, it requires exceptionally good conditions to be seen. It lies in the region of the sky between Enif, the brightest star in Pegasus, Altair, the luminary of Aquila, Ascella, one of the bright stars of the Teapot in Sagittarius, and Fomalhaut, a solitary first-magnitude star in Piscis Austrinus, found near the imaginary line extended from Scheat through Markab across the sky.
The visible stars of the goat constellation form a pattern reminiscent of two horns, with the luminaries Deneb Algedi and Nashira marking one tip and Algedi and Dabih the other. The faint Omega Capricorni lies at the bottom of the triangular pattern, near the border with Microscopium and just north of the imaginary line connecting Fomalhaut and Ascella. Deneb Algedi is the only star in Capricornus brighter than magnitude 3.00, which means that the constellation is very difficult to see from light-polluted areas.
MYTHOLOGY
Even though Capricornus is one of the faintest constellations in the sky, it is associated with myths and images that date back to the 21st century BCE.
The story of Capricornus originated with the Babylonians and Sumerians. The Sumerians knew the constellation as the goat-fish, or SUHUR-MASH-HA, while Babylonian star catalogues compiled around 1000 BCE called it MUL.SUHUR.MAŠ, also meaning “goat fish.” In the early Bronze Age, Capricornus marked the winter solstice and, in modern astrology, Capricorn’s rule still begins on the first day of astronomical winter.
The Greeks associated the constellation with the forest deity Pan, who had the legs and horns of a goat. Crotus, his son, is usually associated with another amphibious creature, represented by the neighboring constellation Sagittarius.
Pan was placed in the sky by Zeus in gratitude for his coming to the other gods’ rescue on several occasions. During the gods’ war with the Titans, Pan helped scare the Titans away by blowing his conch shell. Later, he warned the gods that Typhon, a monster sent by Gaia to fight them, was approaching. He also suggested that gods disguise themselves as animals until the danger passed.
In the myth, Pan eluded the monster himself by jumping into the river Nile and turning the lower part of his body into that of a fish. Zeus eventually struck down Typhon with his thunderbolts. In reference to the myth, Capricornus is still often depicted as a goat with the tail of a fish.
In another story, Capricornus is identified as Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus when he was an infant, hiding from his father Cronos. Cronos had devoured his other children, all future gods and goddesses, because of a prophecy that said that he would be overthrown by one of them.