The Constellation Capricornus

by Dominic Ford
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Capricornus

Capricornus is the smallest of the twelve zodiacal constellations, visible in the southern sky in the months around July.

Despite lying close to the Milky Way, it contains few bright deep sky objects, with the single exception of the globular cluster M30.

It represents a bizarre mythical creature which is half goat and half fish. It is also sometimes associated with Pan, god of the countryside. The name ‘Capricornus’ means ‘horned goat’.

It lies in a part of the sky often called the ‘Sea’ since it has several water-related constellations, including Aquarius and Pisces.

Date First Appeared
Ancient
Sky Area
1.0% of the sky
413.9 square degrees
Messier Objects
Capricornus contains the following Messier object: M30.
Caldwell Objects
Capricornus contains no Caldwell objects
Neighbors
The following constellations neighbor Capricornus: Aquarius, Aquila, Capricornus, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus, Sagittarius.
Capricornus Capricornus
The constellation Capricornus as it appears to the unaided eye. Roll mouse over to see labels.
Source: Stellarium.

Ashburn

Latitude:
Longitude:
Timezone:

39.04°N
77.49°W
EDT

Color scheme


Brightest Objects in Capricornus

Hover the pointer over the name of an object to highlight its position on the starchart to the right, or click to see more information.

Stars Open Clusters Globular Clusters Galaxies
δ-Cap (mag 2.9) Messier 30 (mag 6.9) NGC 6907 (mag 11.2)
Dabih (mag 3.1) NGC 6908 (mag 12.3)
Algedi (mag 3.6) IC 5078 (mag 12.7)
Nashira (mag 3.7) NGC 6924 (mag 12.8)
ζ-Cap (mag 3.8) NGC 6903 (mag 12.9)
θ-Cap (mag 4.1) IC 1386 (mag 13.1)
ω-Cap (mag 4.1) NGC 6912 (mag 13.2)
ψ-Cap (mag 4.2) IC 4999 (mag 13.2)
α¹-Cap (mag 4.2) IC 5005 (mag 13.6)
ι-Cap (mag 4.3) NGC 6936 (mag 14.0)
b-Cap (mag 4.5) NGC 6931 (mag 14.0)
A-Cap (mag 4.5) NGC 6993 (mag 14.0)
ε-Cap (mag 4.5) NGC 6898 (mag 14.0)
κ-Cap (mag 4.7) IC 1339 (mag 14.2)
ν-Cap (mag 4.7) NGC 7105 (mag 14.2)
η-Cap (mag 4.8) IC 1324 (mag 14.3)
ρ-Cap (mag 4.9) IC 5088 (mag 14.5)
μ-Cap (mag 5.1) IC 1412 (mag 14.6)
c-Cap (mag 5.1) NGC 6897 (mag 14.6)
HIP 100881 (mag 5.1) NGC 7030 (mag 14.6)
φ-Cap (mag 5.2) IC 1404 (mag 14.6)
υ-Cap (mag 5.2) IC 1337 (mag 14.7)
42-Cap (mag 5.2) NGC 6986 (mag 14.7)
τ-Cap (mag 5.2) IC 1319 (mag 14.8)
41-Cap (mag 5.2) NGC 7016 (mag 14.8)
σ-Cap (mag 5.3) IC 1328 (mag 14.9)
χ-Cap (mag 5.3) NGC 7131 (mag 14.9)
29-Cap (mag 5.3) IC 1408 (mag 14.9)
33-Cap (mag 5.4) IC 1313 (mag 15.0)
30-Cap (mag 5.4) NGC 7019 (mag 15.1)
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