The Capricornus constellation in Chinese astronomy is in the black tortoise of the north.Sometimes, Capricornus is identified as the god with the legs and horns of a goat, Pan. Pan saved himself from the Typhon monster by providing himself with the tail of a fish to dive into a river.Capricornus is one of the zodiac constellations. The Latin term, Capricornus constellation, means ‘having a goat’s horn,’ ‘goat horn’, or ‘horned goat’. It is typically depicted as a sea-goat, which is a mythical creature that is half-fish and half-goat. Capricornus was a part of 48 constellations that Claudius Ptolemy, a second-century astronomer, listed. It is currently a part of 88 modern constellations. Under modern boundaries, Capricornus contains Aquila, Aquarius, Austrinus, Piscis, Microscopium, and Sagitarius. The constellation is the sky region known as the Water or the Sea, where there are several water-related constellations like Eridanus, Pisces, and Aquarius.Capricornus is the smallest zodiac constellation. The first attestation of the depiction of Capricornus on a cylinder seal is from the 21st century BCE, clearly documented in the Babylonian star catalogs before 1000 BCE. The winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age occurred under this constellation. However, due to equinoxes’ precession, the winter solstice currently occurs under the Sagittarius constellation. The Sun is currently in the Capricorn constellation from late January to mid-February.Unique Pattern In The Capricorn ConstellationAround 20 stars (a multiple star system) make the Capricornus sea-goat pattern.It can be a bit hard to spot this multiple-star system as it is surrounded by prominent constellations, especially if you do not know how to spot it. It is among the faintest constellations and looks nothing like a sea-goat. An effective way to spot this star system is to first spot Sagittarius, a far more obvious constellation. As Capricorn lies on the ecliptic, you can follow the ecliptic to spot this constellation between Aquarius and Sagittarius. It looks like a lopsided triangle. One more way to spot this faint constellation is to spot the Summer Triangle asterism from the Northern Hemisphere. You can follow the line between Altair and Vega and the triangle of Capricornus lies along this trail. Capricornus lies south on the southern horizon sky for northern observers, while for those in the Southern hemisphere, it appears higher in the northern sky. The best time to view the constellation Capricorn is in September at 10 p.m.The globular cluster is around 93 light-years across and 27,140 light-years far in size. Charles Messier discovered this globular cluster, and it was among the first deep-sky objects to be found. The age of this star cluster is around 12.93 billion years old. Messier described this object in 1764 as a circular nebula with no star. M30 is easily visible from a small telescope. HCG 87 or Hickson Compact Group 87 is a galaxy group located around 400 million light-years away. HCG 87a is the largest member; it is a spiral galaxy appearing exactly edge-on. HCG 87b is an elliptical galaxy with an active galactic nucleus and black hole. HCG 87c is a spiral galaxy with signs of the active formation of stars. The apparent magnitude of HCG 87a is 15.3; the apparent magnitude of HCG 87b is 15.4, and the apparent magnitude of HCG 87c is 16.1. The intermediate spiral galaxy, IC 1337, is around 420 million light-years away. Its apparent magnitude is 14.5. Stephane Javelle, the French astronomer, found it in 1892. The globular cluster, Palomar 12, is around 63,600 light-years away. M30 and Palomar 12 can be observed using the Hubble Space Telescope.Zodiac Significance Of The Capricorn ConstellationThe zodiac significance of the Capricorn Constellation is that Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, first cataloged the Capricornus constellation, like other zodiacal constellations, in the second century CE, in his Almagest.Capricornus belongs to the constellation zodiac family, which also includes Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Taurus, Aries, Gemini, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Pisces, and Aquarius. The sea-goat, Capricornus, has five named stars. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved the star names Nashira, Deneb, Dabih, Algedi, and Alshat. Capricornus has five meteor showers, namely, the Tau Capricornids, the Capricorniden-Sagittarids, the Alpha Capricorni, Sigma Capricornids, and Chi Capricornids. The Capricornus constellation can be observed using the bright stars of the Piscis Austrinus, Sagittarius, Aquila, and Pegasus constellations.Astrology, not science, contains the zodiac sign Capricorn as the 10th sign representing people born between December 22 and January 19. It lies in the sky between the luminary of Aquila, Altair, Pegasus’ brightest star, Enif, Teapot’s bright stars in Sagittarius, Ascella, and Piscis Austrinus’ first-magnitude star, Fomalhaut. It is present near an imaginary line extending from Scheat to Markab through the sky. The Capricorn sign in astrology is usually known as a materialistic sign and does not explore spiritual aspects. The sign is typically seen as a goat-fish hybrid. The front half is a goat and the second part is a fish.Religious Significance Of The Capricorn ConstellationThe zodiac significance of the Capricorn constellation is that Capricornus is frequently referred to as Capricorn, particularly corresponding to an astrological sign.Greek mythology involves both a fish and a goat in the story of Capricorn. This mythical story starts with Pricus, a sea-goat, and the father of this complete race. These creatures are known for their honor and intelligence. They inhabit sea waters close to shore. Gods favor them, and they can speak and think. Chronos, the god of time, and Pricus are connected. It is said that Chronos made Pricus, and both have the ability to change time. Capricorn constellation mythology starts with the children of Pricus. Young sea-goats learn to get up onto the shore. They are drawn to the shore. Using their front goat legs, they drag their body onto shore to enjoy the sunshine. The longer they are onshore, the more they look like a goat. The fish tail is lost as a part of their evolution. The tails then turn into rear legs; however, they can neither think nor speak.It is said that Pricus was quite upset by this. Pricus, after this incident, becomes determined to keep his children away from the shore. He is afraid that once his children get on shore, they will never return to the sea, turning into mindless animals. Pricus then uses his ability to change time to keep his kids back where they belong. It does not affect Pricus. Now that Pricus knows the future, he tries to teach his children about the consequences of going to the shore. He goes on to forbid his kids from going to the shore. However, whatever he does, the fate of his children does not change. Each time he reverses time and explains about the past event, his children are somehow attracted to the land. Finally, Pricus gives up his attempts to keep his children in the sea. He stops changing time and lets his children live out their fate. He then requests Chronos to let him die as he does not want to be the only one left behind. Chronos does not kill him but offers him immortality in the sky. So, he becomes the Capricorn constellation and watches over his children as a star.The Scientific Significance Of The Capricorn ConstellationThe brightest star in Capricornus is Deneb Algedi or Delta Capricorni.Capricornus, the sea-goat, contains multiple stars. Delta Capricorni or Deneb Algedi is the brightest multiple star system with an apparent magnitude of 2.81 and is 38.70 light-years from our planet. Two components of this star orbit each other. Delta Capricorni A displays a white giant star spectrum. Beta Capricorni or Dabih is the second brightest star, having an apparent magnitude of 3.05. The term Dabis is a derivation of Arabic, al-dhabih, which means the pitcher. The system of beta Capricorni is made of five stars and appears as a binary star in binoculars. Beta Capricorni A, Beta Capricorni B, traditionally called Dabih major and Dabih Minor, respectively, have 0.34 light-years of distance between each other. The bright orange giant, Dabih-Beta Capricorni Aa, is 35 times the radius of the Sun. The binary star, Beta Capricorni Ab1 and Ab2, has 8.7 days of orbital period. Alpha Capricorni or Algedi (yellow giant) is divided into Alpha1 Capricorni and Alpha2 Capricorni. The brighter one is Alpha2 Capricorni. Three of these stars shine at a magnitude of 3.57 and from 102 light-years away.Nu Capricorni or Alshat, a double star, occurs in the same field as Alpha Capricorni. It is at a distance of 253 light-years with an apparent magnitude of 4.76. Alshat translates to ’the sheep’. Gamma Capricorni or Nashira is 139 light-years away, with a magnitude of 3.67. Nashira translates to ‘bearer of good news’ or ’lucky one’. Zeta Capricorni, a binary star at a distance of 386 light-years from our planet, has a magnitude of 3.74. It is a notable barium star with an overabundance of praseodymium. Although Zeta Capricorni is traditionally called Marakk or yan, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has not approved this. Theta Capricorni or Dorsum is 162 light-years away with a magnitude of 4.07. Dorsum translates to back. It is 152 million years old. Omega Capricorni or Baten Algiedi is an orange giant star at 1,000 light-years away with a magnitude of 4.11. Baten Algiedi translates to ‘belly of a goat.’ Omega Capricorni is also a barium star like Zeta Capricorni. Psi Capricorni, a yellow-white star, is 47.9 light-years away with a magnitude of 4.13. It is 1.4 billion years old.
The Capricornus constellation in Chinese astronomy is in the black tortoise of the north.
