Deneb Algedi is the brightest star of Capricornus, a white eclipsing binary at the sea goat’s tail that dims slightly when one star passes the other.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 38.7 light-years (11.9 pc) |
| its light left it | 38.7 years ago |
| luminosity | 9.58 × the Sun |
| radius | 1.54 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 8,180 K |
| constellation | Capricornus (Sea Goat) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Deneb Algedi
The card shows a white star of class A, a little larger and hotter than the Sun and clearly brighter. It is in fact a close binary whose orbit lies nearly edge-on to us, so the two stars take turns to pass in front of each other and its light dips in a regular rhythm, like Algol’s.
Its name comes from the Arabic dhanab al-jady, “the tail of the goat”: the same word for tail that gives Deneb in Cygnus and Denebola in Leo their names. Lying close to the ecliptic, it is sometimes hidden by the Moon.
What you see in the piece
Deneb Algedi is one of the nearest stars of Capricornus. Fly out and its neighbour on the sky, Nashira, falls far behind it, and the tail of the goat comes apart.
Questions
What is the brightest star in Capricornus?
Deneb Algedi, Delta Capricorni, is the brightest star in Capricornus. It lies 38.7 light-years (11.9 pc) from the Sun.