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Definition: Capricornus |
CapricornusNoun1. A faint zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere; between Sagittarius and Aquarius. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "Capricornus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Aerospace | See constellation.Abbreviation Cap, Capr. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
| Capricornus | |
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| Abbreviation | Cap |
| Genitive | Capricorni |
| Meaning in English | the Goat or Sea-Goat |
| Right ascension | 21 h |
| Declination | -20° |
| Visible to latitude | Between 60° and -90° |
| Best visible | September |
| Area - Total | Ranked 15th 867 sq. deg. |
| Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 | 1 |
| Brightest star - Apparent magnitude | Deneb Algedi (δ Cap) 3.0 |
| Meteor showers |
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| Bordering constellations |
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Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is commonly called Capricorn, especially in astrology. It represents a horned goat, although it is commonly called the sea-goat. Capricornus is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy. Under its modern boundaries it is bordered by Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius.
For the same region, the sun's most southerly position, which is attained at the northern hemisphere's winter solstice, is called the Tropic of Capricorn, a term which also applies to the line on earth where the sun is directly overhead at noon on that solstice.
Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the December solstice no longer takes place while the sun is in Capricorn, but the astrological period called Capricorn begins at approximately the same time as the solstice.
The planet Neptune was discovered in this constellation by German astronomer Johann Galle, near Deneb Algedi (δ Capricorni) on September 23, 1846.
However, the constellation is often depicted as a sea-goat, a goat with a fish's tail. One myth that deals with this says that when the goat-god Pan was attacked by the monster Typhon, he dove into the Nile; the parts above the water remained a goat, but those under the water transformed into a fish.
In Sumeria, the constellation was associated with the god Ea or Enki, who brought culture out of the sea to humankind.
The constellation is located in an area of sky called the Sea or Water, consisting of many watery constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.
Constellations of the zodiac : Aries -- Taurus -- Gemini -- Cancer -- Leo -- Virgo -- Libra -- Scorpius -- (Ophiuchus) -- Sagittarius -- Capricornus -- Aquarius -- PiscesNotable features
This constellation is the dimmest in the zodiac besides Cancer. Its brighter stars are found on a triangle whose vertices are Giedi (α), Deneb Algedi (δ), and ω Capricorni.History
This constellation is one of the oldest to have been identified, possibly the oldest, despite its dimness. Depictions of a goat or goat-fish have been found on Babylonian tablets dating back three thousand years. The constellation may owe its antiquity to the fact that at that time, the northern hemisphere's Winter Solstice occurred while the sun was in Capricorn. The concern for the sun's rebirth might have rendered astronomical and astrological observation of this region of space very important.Mythology
This 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. Some ancient sources claim that this derives from the sun "taking nourishment" while in the constellation, in preparation for its climb back northward.Astrology
The astrological sign Capricorn (December 22-January 19) is associated with the constellation.
In some cosmologies, Capricorn is associated with the classical element Earth, and thus called an Earth Sign (with Taurus and Virgo). Its polar opposite is Cancer.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capricornus."
Synonym: CapricornusSynonym: Capricorn (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Capricornus |
| English words defined with "Capricornus": Aquarius ♦ Microscopium ♦ Sagittarius. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Capricornus": Cap, Capr, Capr ♦ first point of Capricornus ♦ Southern Gate of the Sun. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "Capricornus": Capricorn. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Capricornus" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses. Latin (Capricorn, Goat/the, tropic of capricorn). |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
capricornus | 15 |
capricornus constellation | 2 |
capricornus picture | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-c-i-n-o-p-r-r-s-u" | |
-3 letters: carrions, crucians, parsonic, rancours. | |
-4 letters: acinous, acronic, carious, carrion, cirrous, cocains, concurs, corsair, crucian, curaris, curiosa, currans, inpours, ouraris, picaros, prosaic, puranic, rancors, rancour, ricracs, soprani, sporran, uproars. | |
-5 letters: acinus, acorns, anuric, aprons, arsino, cairns, capons, capric, capris, carpus, casino, circus, cirrus, cocain, concur, conics, copras, cornua, cornus, corpus, corsac, cousin, crocus, croups. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-c-i-n-o-p-r-r-s-u" | |
+5 letters: neuropsychiatric. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)43 61 70 72 69 63 6F 72 6E 75 73 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-.-. .- .--. .-. .. -.-. --- .-. -. ..- ... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000011 01100001 01110000 01110010 01101001 01100011 01101111 01110010 01101110 01110101 01110011 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)C a p r i c o r n u s |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0043 0061 0070 0072 0069 0063 006F 0072 006E 0075 0073 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3767828475698184808785 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Expressions: Internet | 5. Anagrams 6. Orthography 7. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
