If you look to the east of the meridian of the celestial, the following can be found Aquila constellation Capricorn.Beginners to observe the night sky should be borne in mind that it is more noticeable in areas of the southern regions of Russia.The boundaries of this zodiacal constellation the sun comes in January, so it's best to look at it in the summer.
constellation Capricorn is very old, much older than many other constellations that are in the southern hemisphere sky.Wide is it exactly between the constellation of Aquarius and Sagittarius.Ancient astronomers have a very rich imagination put this piece of the sky filled with stars little kid.With the passage of time turned into harmless animal sea monster: half-goat, half-Fish.
Capricorn - a very interesting constellation.The brightest star of it - is Deneb Al Gedi or Shedd, which in Arabic means "goat's tail."Yet there is a globular cluster, which is called the M30, discovered by astronomer Charles Messier in France as early as the mid-18th century, but the confirmed only twenty years later the Englishman Herschel.This cluster is very dense, formed by the destruction of the central nucleus surrounded by stars to cool - red gigantamii.Watch it can be, even with a small telescope, but find no experience quite difficult.
constellation Capricorn does not rise very high above the horizon, and in the northern and middle latitudes and do not see particularly well.To find it, you need to mentally draw a line from the bottom apex of the triangle constellation of the Eagle - the star Altair.Constellation Capricorn picture which takes many pages of astronomical publications, can be clearly seen during the second half of summer.
History of the name of the constellation is quite interesting.When astronomers in ancient Greece gave the names of the stars, the point of the winter solstice exactly in Capricorn Tropic of Capricorn and named - the Tropic of Capricorn, and very involved in the constellation of astronomical catalog of the sky "Almagest" that Ptolemy was legendary."Fish-goat" or constellation Capricorn gets its name from the divine goat Amelfei.
Once upon a time the goddess Rhea saved his young son Zeus from his angry father - Kronos, a deity of time.The fact that God had predicted a very sad fate: it had the power to deprive his own son.And because Kronos devoured all the children born to Rhea.Goddess in despair hid the child and wrapped in swaddling clothes stone immediately gobbled deity.His mother hid the baby in Crete, in a mountain cave.And there Afalfeya - goat, or, according to another version, the nymph - nursed the future thunder.A faithful servant of the goddess with the help of saber rattling and rumbling of muffled weeping shields a small child, and amused him.When Zeus grew up, he, by gratitude, nurse lifted into the sky, turning into a star in the constellation Auriga.And so it appeared the desired constellation.
Since the constellation of Capricorn has always been associated with the Pan - the patron saint of shepherds and half goat, fun lover, nymphs and nature, fun and wine.One day, fleeing from a terrible monster called Typhon, the god rushed into the river, and his goat legs turned into a fish tail.And displays an image of the constellation - half goat, half fish.Incidentally, in this star cluster is Neptune.
