Find it in the sky
The smallest of the zodiac: its brighter stars draw a triangle (Algedi, Deneb Algedi and Omega). Between Sagittarius and Aquarius, low in the south on September evenings.
Zodiac
Capricornus
Capricornus: Neptune was found by its brightest star in 1846.
Best in September, around 9 p.m.No. 40 of the 88 constellations by areaBrightest star Deneb Algedi (magnitude 2.81)8 stars in this guide
The drawings on these maps are the game’s, and don’t show exact positions in the sky.
Legend
A sea-goat, half goat and half fish; the Babylonians knew it as “the Goat-Fish”, the sign of their god Ea. In the Greek tale it is Pan, who gave himself a fish’s tail and dived into a river when the monster Typhon attacked. In others it is Amalthea, the goat that nursed baby Zeus; her broken horn became the horn of plenty.
Sign
22 December to 19 January. In the real sky the Sun passes in front of Capricornus from about 19 January to 16 February.
Its stars
Magnitude says how bright a star looks from here: the smaller the number, the brighter the star.
Algedi
Alpha² Capricorni
- Type
- Yellow giant
- Distance
- about 102 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.57
- Name
- “The goat” (Arabic)
A yellow giant of about twice the Sun’s mass and over eight times its size; a triple star system.
Dabih
Beta Capricorni
- Type
- Orange bright giant
- Distance
- about 390 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.05
- Name
- “The butcher” (Arabic)
Binoculars or a small telescope split it into two stars.
Omega Capricorni
Omega Capricorni
- Type
- Orange giant
- Distance
- about 550 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.11
- Name
- No official name; known by the Greek letter omega
An orange giant swollen to about 93 times the Sun’s size.
Udang
Theta Capricorni
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 162 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.07
- Name
- “The Shrimp”: the constellation of these stars in Bali (Indonesia)
A hot white star of about 2.5 times the Sun’s mass.
Iota Capricorni
Iota Capricorni
- Type
- Yellow giant
- Distance
- about 201 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 4.30
- Name
- No official name; known by the Greek letter iota
A yellow giant of about three times the Sun’s mass and eleven times its size.
Zeta Capricorni
Zeta Capricorni
- Type
- Yellow supergiant
- Distance
- about 386 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.77
- Name
- No official name; known by the Greek letter zeta
A yellow supergiant with a small, dense white dwarf circling it.
Nashira
Gamma Capricorni
- Type
- Yellow-white star
- Distance
- about 171 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 3.67
- Name
- “The lucky one” or “bearer of good news” (Arabic)
A yellowish-white star of about 2.4 times the Sun’s mass whose brightness changes slightly.
Deneb Algedi
Delta Capricorni
- Type
- White star
- Distance
- about 39 light years
- Brightness
- magnitude 2.81
- Name
- “The tail of the goat” (Arabic)
The closest known eclipsing binary: its two stars pass in front of each other every day.
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Sources: constellation areas follow the International Astronomical Union (IAU) boundaries; star values come from Wikipedia’s articles, based on Hipparcos and Gaia; the Sun’s dates come from EarthSky. Distances are rounded.