Capricornus

Constellation
List of stars in Capricornus
Abbreviation	Cap
Genitive	Capricorni
Pronunciation	/ˌkæprɨˈkɔrnəs/, genitive /ˌkæprɨˈkɔrnaɪ/
Symbolism	the Sea Goat
Right ascension	21 h
Declination	−20°
Quadrant	SQ4
Area	414 sq. deg. (40th)
Main stars	9, 13,23
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	49
Stars with planets	4
Stars brighter than 3.00m	1
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	3
Brightest star	δ Cap (Deneb Algedi) (2.85m)
Nearest star	LP 816-60 (17.91 ly, 5.49 pc)
Messier objects	1
Meteor showers	Alpha Capricornids Chi Capricornids Sigma Capricornids Tau Capricornids Capricorniden-Sagittariids
Bordering constellations	Aquarius Aquila Sagittarius Microscopium Piscis Austrinus
Visible at latitudes between +60° and −90°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of September.

Capricornus ( /ˌkæprɨˈkɔrnəs/) is one of the constellations of the zodiac; it is often called Capricorn, especially when referring to the corresponding astrological sign. Its name is Latin for "horned male goat" or "goat horn", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. Its symbol is (Unicode ♑).

Capricornus is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Under its modern boundaries it is bordered by Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius. The constellation is located in an area of sky called the Sea or the Water, consisting of many water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus. It is the second faintest constellation in the zodiac after Cancer.

Notable features[link]

The constellation Capricornus as it can be seen with the naked eye. ^[1]

Capricornus (right) and Aquarius (left). The brightest star of the picture is Jupiter.

Deep-sky objects[link]

Several galaxies and star clusters are contained within Capricornus. Messier 30 is a globular cluster located 1 degree south of the galaxy group NGC 7103. The constellation also harbors the wide spiral galaxy NGC 6907.

One galaxy group located in Capricornus is HCG 87, a group of at least three galaxies located 400 million light-years from Earth (redshift 0.0296). It contains a large elliptical galaxy, a face-on spiral galaxy, and an edge-on spiral galaxy. The face-on spiral galaxy is experiencing abnormally high rates of star formation, indicating that it is interacting with one or both members of the group. Furthermore, the large elliptical galaxy and the edge-on spiral galaxy, both of which have active nuclei, are connected by a stream of stars and dust, indicating that they too are interacting. Astronomers predict that the three galaxies may merge millions of years in the future to form a giant elliptical galaxy.^[2]

Named stars[link]

History and mythology[link]

Despite its faintness, Capricornus has one of the oldest mythological associations, having been consistently represented as a hybrid of a goat and a fish since the Middle Bronze Age. First attested in depictions on a cylinder-seal from around the 21st century BC,^[3] it was explicitly recorded in the Babylonian star catalogues as ^MULSUḪUR.MAŠ "The Goat-Fish" before 1000 BC. The constellation was a symbol of the god Ea and in the Early Bronze Age marked the winter solstice.^[4]

Due to the precession of the equinoxes the December solstice no longer takes place while the sun is in the constellation Capricornus, but the astrological sign called Capricorn begins with the solstice. The sun's most southerly position, which is attained at the northern hemisphere's winter solstice, is now called the Tropic of Capricorn, a term which also applies to the line on the Earth at which the sun is directly overhead at noon on that solstice.

In Greek mythology, the constellation is sometimes identified as Amalthea, the goat that suckled the infant Zeus after his mother Rhea saved him from being devoured by his father Cronos (in Greek mythology). The goat's broken horn was transformed into the cornucopia or horn of plenty.^{[citation needed]}

The planet Neptune was discovered in Capricornus by German astronomer Johann Galle, near Deneb Algedi (δ Capricorni) on September 23, 1846, which is appropriate as Capricornus can be seen best from Europe at 4:00am in September.

Visualizations[link]

Early nineteenth century rendition of Capricornus as a sea-goat.

Capricornus's brighter stars are found on a triangle whose vertices are α² Capricorni (Giedi), δ Capricorni (Deneb Algiedi), and ω Capricorni. Ptolemy's method of connecting the stars of Capricornus has been influential.^[5]

Diagram of H.A. Rey's alternative way to connect the stars of the Capricornus constellation.

H. A. Rey has suggested an alternative visualization, which graphically shows a goat.^[6] The goat's head is formed by the triangle of stars ι Cap, θ Cap, and ζ Cap. The goat's horn sticks out with stars γ Cap and δ Cap. Star δ Cap, at the tip of the horn, is of the third magnitude. The goat's tail consists of stars β Cap and α² Cap: star β Cap being of the third magnitude. The goat's hind foot consists of stars ψ Cap and ω Cap. Both of these stars are of the fourth magnitude.

Equivalents[link]

• In Chinese astronomy, constellation Capricornus lies in The Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ).

• Nakh peoples called this constellation Roofing Towers (Chechen: Neģara Bjovnaš)

Astrology[link]

As of 2002^[update], the Sun appears in the constellation Capricornus from January 19 to February 15. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Capricorn from December 22 to January 20, and in sidereal astrology, from January 15 to February 15.

Namesakes[link]

The USS Capricornus (AK-47/UMP45), an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship, was named after the constellation.^[7]

Citations[link]

See also[link]

• Capricornus (Chinese astronomy)
• IC 1337, galaxy

External links[link]

• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Capricornus
• Star Tales – Capricornus

v t e The Zodiac
Astrology | Signs of the Zodiac
Aries													Taurus													Gemini													Cancer													Leo													Virgo													Libra													Scorpio													Sagittarius													Capricorn													Aquarius													Pisces
Astronomy | Constellations of the Ecliptic
Aries												Taurus												Gemini												Cancer												Leo												Virgo												Libra												Scorpius												Ophiuchus												Sagittarius												Capricornus												Aquarius												Pisces
See also: Ecliptic coordinates Precession of the equinoxes 13-sign zodiac Zodiacal light

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Capricornus

Coordinates: 21^h 00^m 00^s, −20° 00′ 00″

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (June 2011)

Austin Peralta
Born	(1990-10-25) October 25, 1990 (age 21)
Nationality	United States
Works	See "Discography" below

Austin Peralta (born October 25, 1990) is a musician and composer He had two CD's released by CBS/Sony in Japan by the age of 16.

Peralta is a piano player, devoted to music from his very young years when he started taking piano lessons at age 6, and continued his music studies with Eleanor Lindboe and Sara Banta at Pepperdine University. He has also studied with the noted jazz pianist Alan Pasqua and saxophonist Buddy Collette. He won the Shelly Manne New Talent Award given by the Los Angeles Jazz Society in 2003.^[1] He has performed in his home state of California, Germany and Japan, where he had his first tour in 2006.

At age 15, Peralta was also a featured performer at the 2006 Tokyo Jazz Festival, appearing with his own trio,^[2] as well as a live performance with major jazz stars Chick Corea, Hank Jones, Sadao Watanabe, John Patitucci, Omar Hakim, and the young Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara. At age 16 Peralta appeared at the internationally-known Java Jazz Festival (2007).

Peralta's first CD, "Maiden Voyage", featured bassist Ron Carter,^[1] and his second release "Mantra" included bassist Buster Williams.

Peralta is the son of the Z-Boy skateboarder and film director Stacy Peralta.^[3] he contributed to the original soundtrack of his father's documentary film "Riding Giants" with a piano solo.

Discography[link]

Maiden Voyage (March 2006)[link]

Personnel:

Austin Peralta - piano
Ron Carter - bass
Billy Kilson - drums

Track listing:

1. Passion Dance
2. Shadow Of Your Smile
3. Maiden Voyage
4. Green, Dolphin Street
5. Spain
6. N.Q.E. (Naguib Qormah Effendi)
7. Someday My Prince Will Come
8. Balaqeeti
9. Naima

Mantra (December 2006)[link]

Personnel:

Marcus Strickland - tenor/soprano saxes
Steve Nelson - vibes
Austin Peralta - piano
Buster Williams - bass
Ronald Bruner, Jr. - drums

Track Listing:

1. Mantra
2. Black Narcissus
3. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
4. Astral Tides
5. Butterfly
6. Ablaze
7. All the Things You Are
8. Afro Blue
9. D.Redman

Endless Planets (February 2011)[link]

Personnel: ^[4]

Austin Peralta - piano
Zane Musa - alto sax
Ben Wendel - tenor and soprano saxes
Hamilton Price - bass
Zach Harmon - drums

Track Listing:

1. Introduction: The Lotus Flower (2:16)
2. Capricornus (8:15)
3. The Underwater Mountain Odyssey (6:38)
4. Ode To Love (6:41)
5. Interlude (1:17)
6. Algiers (13:37)
7. Epilogue: Renaissance Bubbles (1:48)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Java Jazz Festival 2007 profile
• Official MySpace page