Fact sheet
- Latin name
- Capricornus (Cap)
- Brightest star
- Deneb Algedi (δ Cap)
- Relative brightness
- 2.81 to 3.05 mag
- Hipparcos catalogue
- HIP 107556
- Area
- 414 deg² (rank: 40 out of 88)
- Right ascension
- 20h 06m 46s to 21h 59m 05s
- Declination
- -27° 38' 31'' to -8° 24' 16''
- Neighbouring constellations
- Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius
Visibility
The constellation Capricornus
Capricornus is a constellation of the southern hemisphere. It lies on the ecliptic and is therefore one of the zodiac constellations. The ecliptic describes the apparent path of the sun over the course of a year. During this time, the sun passes through all the zodiac constellations. From 20 January to 16 February, the sun is in the constellation Capricornus. During this time, the constellation cannot be observed, because it is in the daytime sky.
The brightest star of Capricornus is δ Capricorni, which bears the Arabic name Deneb Algedi (tail of the goat). Very close to it, the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the eighth planet, Neptune, on 23 September 1846, based on the calculations of the French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier.
Mythology
According to Greek mythology, Pan, the god of shepherds, of the forest and of nature, was a hybrid creature with the upper body of a human and the legs and horns of a billy goat. He loved music and dance and is regarded as the inventor of the pan flute. Once, when Pan was again holding a wild feast with other gods, the monster Typhon suddenly appeared. Typhon was a terrible giant with one hundred dragon heads. Pan warned the other gods and suggested that they hide disguised as animals. In wild panic, the gods turned themselves into all kinds of animals. Pan himself turned his lower body into a fish and took refuge in a river. Typhon attacked Zeus and badly injured him. Pan managed to heal Zeus together with Hermes, the god of magicians, merchants and thieves. As messenger of the gods, Hermes announced the decisions of Zeus and accompanied the souls of the dead into the underworld (Hades). Zeus then destroyed the monster Typhon with his lightning bolts and buried it under Mount Etna in Sicily. To this day, Etna still breathes out the breath of the monster in clouds of fire. To thank Pan for his service, Zeus placed him in the sky as the constellation Capricornus.
Astrological significance
People who were born between 22 December and 20 January are born under the zodiac sign Capricorn. They are considered hard-working, ambitious and extremely productive. Capricorns learn quickly from past mistakes and then continue on their way with discipline. However, if their path is not crowned with success in the end, they tend to withdraw in a pessimistic and bitter mood. But the rather materialistic Capricorn will already have made provisions for these bad times as well.
