Capricornus, the Sea Goat, is an ancient zodiac constellation of faint stars forming a broad triangle, a goat with the tail of a fish.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 9 |
|---|---|
| nearest star of the figure | Deneb Algedi, 38.7 light-years (11.9 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Epsilon Capricorni, 1,060 light-years (324 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 27 × farther than the nearest |
| zodiac | ♑ the ecliptic runs through it |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Capricornus
Capricornus is one of the oldest constellations, a figure handed down from Babylonian star lore and catalogued by Ptolemy. It shows a goat whose body ends in a fish’s tail. The Sun passes through it every year, and in classical times it stood there at the solstice that brings the shortest day in the north, which is why the southern tropic is still called the Tropic of Capricorn.
It is among the faintest of the zodiac constellations. Deneb Algedi, the tail of the goat, is its brightest star. At the other end, Algedi is a pair that keen eyes can split, though its two stars lie at very different distances and are not related. Dabih, beside it, is a double that small telescopes separate.
The constellation is best seen in the evening in late northern summer and autumn, low in the south from Europe and much higher from the southern hemisphere.
What you see in the piece
Fly out and the triangle tears apart: Deneb Algedi is a near neighbour by the standards of the figure, while Epsilon Capricorni lies far deeper, and the goat’s horns and tail end up in quite different parts of the Sun’s surroundings.
Questions
Is Algedi a double star?
It looks double, but its two stars only lie in almost the same direction and are at very different distances from us.
How far away are the stars of Capricornus?
The nearest star of the figure is Deneb Algedi, 38.7 light-years (11.9 pc) away; the farthest is Epsilon Capricorni, 1,060 light-years (324 pc), 27 × farther.