Capricorn

Mythology

Capricorn is associated with the Greek god Pan, known for its lustful behavior and by the invention of the pan flute. Some say he was a satyr; a man with goats legs, cloven-hoofed and horns. He received his honors when Rea sent the sea monster Tifon to destroy the gods of Olympus. Pan is slop pail in a river and he sought to become a fish to escape. But only achievement transformed to half and when returned to earth, the tifon had already broken up Zeus. To frighten the monster, Pan issued a squeal, which allowed Hermes (the messenger of the gods) recover the members torn from Zeus. Together, Pan and Hermes have been reassembled to Zeus that he rewarded Pan by assigning it a place among the constellations.

Capricorn, the tenth and the smallest of the zodiacal constellations, is formed by stars of magnitude 3 and 4, located to the east of Sagittarius. Its height is given at the beginning of August, but the combination of clear skies and its location at the south of the equator make this constellation is appreciated very little since middle and high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. You can locate by drawing a line from Vega (constellation Lira) that pass by Altair (from the constellation of the Eagle) going through the Milky Way, until you reach Algedi and Dabih, which are the stars alpha and beta of the horns of the goat.

Their main stars are:

- Algedi or Giedi, a yellowish star of magnitude 3.6 . The two names mean "goat" or "ibex". Algedi is, in reality a couple of stars, apparently boards but without any relationship.

Dabih - a star yellow-gold of magnitude 3.1 the name has its origin in arabic to Sa'd the Dhabih, "the lucky of the slaughtermen", and refers to the arabic tradition of sacrificing a goat when the Sun enters for the first time in the fields of stellar Capricorn.

- Deneb Algedi, magnitude 2.9 . The most brilliant of Capricorn, called the "tail of the goat".