Capricorn Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

The Sumerians were the first culture to record the constellation of Capricorn, whom it named Suhur-Mash-Ha, which means "goat-fish."

This idea arose because the Sumerians had to look south, the place where the currents of the Nile River came from, by associating it with water and fish.

In the twenty-first century, A.C., a cylindrical seal of the Sumerian culture of more than 1,000 years ago, was found where the constellation of Capricorn is depicted with a half-fish goat.

Two stories associate the constellation of Capricorn with two different creatures.

The first is the story in which the Capricorn is associated with Amalthea, the goat who suckled Zeus after his mother Rhea saved him from Cronus.

Another story depicts Capricorn as a sea-goat, half goat and half fish. The myth tells that the monster Typhon attacked the goat god "Pan," To save himself from the attack, Pan plunged into the Nile River.

Thus, the parts of "Pan" above the water remained with their original goat form, but those under the water acquired the shape of a fish.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, the position of the Capricorn in the sky helped determine the limits of visibility of the constellations since, at that time, the constellations of the southern hemisphere were not well known.

Astronomers compared the other constellations with Capricorn to calibrate dates and latitudes in the southern hemisphere that were not visible from the northern hemisphere.

For this reason, the area of the sky of the celestial vault where the winter solstice occurs is called "Tropic of Capricorn," which is the line that runs the sun in the sky as seen from the northern hemisphere.

Since it was named as part of the 88 constellations of Ptolemy Capricorn, it has always remained an independent constellation, and the International Astronomical Union has not modified its area in the sky.

Capricorn resides in the fourth quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ4). It is visible at latitudes between 90° S and 62° N, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky from almost all parts of the world, including some areas near Antarctica.

Capricorn is visible from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica; however, from the northern hemisphere, Capricorn is not visible in areas such as Siberia, Iceland, Alaska, or northern Sweden.

Capricorn is a seasonal constellation, only seen during certain seasons. It belongs to the group of northern autumn constellations.

We can see it from September to the end of December. The best month to observe this constellation is September.

Capricorn is one of the most challenging constellations to see because it is the smallest of all the zodiac constellations.

Besides that, it is a very faint constellation, and you can only find it in a dark and clear sky.

To find it is better to do it in September and October when it is most prominent in the sky.

If you live in the Earth's northern hemisphere, you have to look south. Capricorn does not rise much above the southern horizon.

Remember that its main stars form an arrowhead or triangle that points downward.

To locate it, you can use the summer triangle (The Summer Triangle is a figure made up of 3 very bright stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair, which belong to 3different constellations).

All you have to do is draw a straight line from the star Vega to the star Altair and follow its trajectory down, and there you will find the constellation of Capricorn.

The bordering constellations of Capricorn are Aquarius, Aquila, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus and Sagittarius.

Capricorn also belongs to a group of 12 zodiacal constellations along with Gemini, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Aries, Aquarius, and Pisces.

The brightest star of Capricorn is Deneb Algedi - δ Capricorni, better known as Delta Capricorni. This star is the only one that exceeds magnitude 3 of the entire constellation.

It also has 11 other main stars, and these are: Deneb Algedi, Dabih, Algiedi Secunda, Nashira, Yen, Dorsum, Omega Algiedi, Psi Capricorni, Algiedi Prima, Iota Capricorni, and Alshat, today are forming the arrowhead of the constellation of Capricorn.

Capricorn also boasts several binary stars, which are the 2-star systems. In addition, Capricorn has variable stars that change their magnitude (brightness) during the year.

Delta Capricorn is a multi-star system located at 38.70 light-years from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 2.81.

The star is called After Deneb Algedi, and its name comes from the Arabic ðanab al-jady, meaning "the tail of the goat".

Deneb Algedi is a binary star composed of the δ star Cap Aa and the δ star Cap Ab.

Both stars orbit each other, eclipsing their light. When the smaller star eclipses the giant, the visual magnitude of the system decreases by 0.24.

In contrast, when the more significant star eclipses the smaller star, the total brightness decreases by only 0.09 magnitudes.

Located 328 light-years from the Beta Capricorni is the second brightest star in Capricorn. Like Delta Capricorni, it has multiple stars containing at least three binary stars.

The system's central star is called Dabih. It is a binary star whose components are Dabih Major, the brightest star, and Dabih Minor, the smallest.

In turn, Dabih Major and Dabih Minor are multiple stars.

Dabih Major is formed by the stars β Capricorni Aa,β Capricorni Ab, and β Capricorni Ac. Additional observations indicate that β Capricorni Aa may also have a companion.

For its part, Dabih Menor is made up of the stars β Capricorni B and β Capricorni C.

With a radius 81% times greater than the radius of the Sun, Gliese 785 is an orange dwarf located 28.8 light-years from the solar system. It is a star with two planets orbiting around it.

The planetary system of Gliese 785 consists of two gaseous planets the size of Uranus. The first is Gliese 785, which orbits the star every 74 days, and the second is Gliese 785 c which orbits the star every 542 days.

Epsilon Capricorni is a bluish-white star located 1055 light-years from our solar system, has a surface temperature of approximately 19,350 K, and is 2750 more luminous than the sun.

The measurements indicate that it is at least 4.2 million years old. By its behavior, it is classified as a Gamma Cassiopeiae variable. This star presents irregular luminosity variations due to the one that expels material in the form of cosmic dust.

Capricorn is also known as home to various deep sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies.

In the case of Capricorn, it is rich in several dwarf galaxies and Messier objects.

With an estimated age of 12.9 billion years, Messier 30 is a globular cluster about 93 light-years in size.

It is located approximately 27,140 light-years away and is expected to be approaching us at a speed of 181.9 km/s.

Discovered by William Herschel in 1784, NGC 6907 is an SBbc-type barred spiral galaxy with an apparent magnitude of 11.1.

• HCG 87
• CI 1337
• Palomar 12

Within the boundaries of the constellation of Capricorn occurs a meteor shower classified as "Alpha Capricornids".

The meteor shower occurs between July 3 and August 15, and the peak of maximum visibility occurs between July 20 and 30 of each year.

• Currently, about five stars have been discovered with planetary systems within the regions of the constellation of Capricorn.
• Capricornus is in the Sea's celestial vault, consisting of water-related constellations, such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.
• Of all the constellations that make up the zodiac family of constellations, Capricorn is the smallest of all, occupying an area of only 414 square degrees.

• Since Capricorn is a zodiac constellation, it belongs to the zodiac family's constellations.
• Capricorn comes from Latin and means "Goat's Horn," its name is derived from Greek mythology in which the monster Typhon attacked the goat god "Pan." He threw himself into the Nile River turning half of his body into a fish.
• Capricorn is a southern constellation, but we can see it from all the northern hemisphere countries. The best month to observe Capricorn is September.
• Capricorn is difficult to locate because it is the minor constellation of all the zodiac constellations and has only one star of magnitude 3.
• The brightest star in the constellation is Deneb Algedi, which has a magnitude of 2.85 and is a quadruple star system.
• Capricorn also boasts variable stars, extrasolar planets, and dwarf galaxies within the boundaries of its region.
• The strongest meteor shower in Capricorn is the "Alpha Capricornids".

1. https://earthsky.org/constellations/capricornus-heres-your-constellation/
2. https://www.space.com/21414-capricornus-constellation.html
3. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-capricornus.html
4. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/capricornus-constellation/
5. https://nineplanets.org/capricornus-constellation/