11Capricornus, The Sea Goat
NAME: Capricornus (CAP-rih-CORN-us)
SEASON: Summer
CULMINATION: midnight, 5 August
ABBREVIATION: Cap
GENITIVE: Capricorni (CAP-rih-CORN-ee)
NEIGHBORS: Aql, Aqr, Mic, PsA, Sgr
BINOCULAR OBJECTS: NGC 7099 (M30)
URBAN OBJECTS: none
Capricornus is a dim summer constellation of medium size, ranking 40th among the 88 constellations. It covers 414 square degrees of sky, or about 1%. Its brightest stars are of only third and fourth magnitude, making it the second dimmest of the zodiacal constellations after Cancer. Despite its lack of prominent stars, Capricornus is an ancient constellation, recognized by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians, all of whom saw it as a chimera that melded the front half of a goat ...
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