Capricorn

Capricorn (Latin Capricornus) is a constellation of the ecliptic. Capricorn (also goatfish, therefore often shown with fish tail) is an inconspicuous constellation between Aquarius and Sagittarius. Only two of its stars reach the 3rd magnitude class. The brightest star in the constellation is called Deneb Algedi. Capricorn belongs to the 48 constellations of ancient Greek astronomy, which were already described by Ptolemy. The constellation belongs to the zodiacal signs because the ecliptic runs through it. The sun stays in Capricorn from January 20 to February 16 of each year. In ancient times, the sun passed through the lowest point of its orbit in Capricorn, marking the winter solstice.

The latitude of 23° 26' South is still called the Tropic of Capricorn today, because at this latitude the sun is at its zenith at the winter solstice. In fact, the lowest point of the sun's orbit has shifted to the constellation Sagittarius due to the precessional motion of the earth's axis. On September 23, 1846, Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the eighth planet Neptune near the star δ Capricorni (Deneb Algedi) in Capricorn. Capricorn is probably one of the oldest constellations. The Babylonians referred to it as the "goatfish." A profane explanation is that the inhabitants of the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea used the constellation to designate the time when schools of the goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali) could be caught. It was not until Roman times that the constellation was renamed Capricorn. Nevertheless, even today it is depicted as a creature with the upper body of a goat and the lower body of a fish. According to Greek mythology, the buck-legged god Pan, fleeing from the beast Typhon, who was hunting the gods, jumped into the sea. Pan wanted to take the form of a fish, but he only half succeeded. Typhon then attacked the god Zeus and tore out the tendons of his arms and legs. Pan and Hermes restored Zeus' tendons. The restored Zeus overpowered Typhon and transferred Pan in his form as a goatfish to heaven in gratitude.

The zodiac (from the Latin zodiacus, from the Greek ζῳδιακός zodiakós) or zodiacal circle is the name given today to a zone about 20 degrees wide around the ecliptic, i.e. the apparent orbit of the sun, within which the apparent orbits of the sun, moon and planets run. The ecliptic forms the centre line. It intersects the thirteen ecliptic constellations. Since the orbits of the other planets and the moon are somewhat inclined to the ecliptic, these celestial bodies can also be located in other constellations, such as Corvus, Orion or Cetus, which project into the zodiac. Until the 19th century, however, and still today in astrology, the Zodiac was understood to mean the ecliptic divided into twelve 30-degree sections, the signs of the zodiac. Because of the precession of the Earth's axis, the zodiacal constellations today no longer lie in the zodiacal signs of the same name, so the two must be strictly distinguished from each other.