Capricornus

Constellation

A zodiac constellation depicting a sea-goat, one of the faintest zodiac constellations.

Facts

TypeConstellation
Area of sky414 sq°
Brightest starDeneb Algedi
Brightest star magnitudemag 2.81
HemisphereSouthern
Zodiac constellationYes
Discovered150

Capricornus in context

A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.

Capricornus covers 414 square degrees of sky, which is 1.0 percent of the whole celestial sphere.

That makes it the 40th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.

It sits in the southern sky, and it is one of the twelve constellations the Sun passes through over a year.

Its brightest star reaches magnitude 2.81, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.

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