CAPRICORNUS

The constellation of Capricornus above the southern horizon
The constellation of Capricornus above the southern horizon.
Till Credner - Own work, AlltheSky, CC BY-SA 3.0, wikimedia
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Map of the constellation Capricornus.
CC BY-SA 3.0, wikimedia

Capricornus is a rather dim constellation which needs to be viewed in dark skies far from city lights. Only with little light pollution can its triangular shape resembling the island of Sicily, be made out. It is made up of faint stars so it is difficult to see in skies affected by light pollution.

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Representation of Capricornus in the atlas of Johannes Hevelius.
Johannes Hevelius - Atlas Coelestis.
Johannes Hevelius drew the constellation in Uranographia, his celestial catalogue in 1690,
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In Greek mythology, Capricornus identifies with the god Pan, with his horns and goat-like feet. He was put in the sky as thanks for helping Zeus defeat the monster Typhon.

Although Deneb Algedi is the Delta star, it is actually the brightest star. It is 38 light-years from us and is a white star 8 times brighter than the Sun. Its name in Arabic means ‘the tail of the goat’.

Dahib is the second brightest star in the constellation. It is an orange giant star. It is 344 light-years from the Solar System. It is a multiple star system made up of 5 components.

Algedi is the Alpha star, well known for being a double star seen with the naked eye. Actually, the vision is optical (optical double star) and not physical, the brighter star is 686 light-years away while its companion star is 109 light-years from Earth.
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M 30.
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The only deep-sky object worth mentioning is the globular cluster M30, which is 27,000 light-years away, one of the most compact clusters of its kind. It has chains of stars that are resolvable in small amateur telescopes.

Northern Hemisphere: Capricornus can be seen in the early evening from August to December. The best time to see it is right after sunset in October when it is towards the south, halfway between the horizon and the zenith.

Southern Hemisphere: Capricornus can be seen at the same time of the year as in the Northern hemisphere. At the southern middle latitudes it can be seen around October right after sunset towards the south and right below the zenith.