Post by glactus on Feb 17, 2008 10:13:54 GMT
Capricornus, Latin for "horned" is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is commonly called Capricorn, especially when referring to the corresponding astrological sign. It is also commonly called the sea-goat, as it is in an area of the sky known as the Sea. Capricornus is one of the 88 modern constellations, and under its modern boundaries it is bordered by Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius.
The stars of Capricornus lie in the general direction of our Galaxy's Core, but outside the dense plane of the Milky Way.
Capricorn has several galaxies and clusters. Messier 30 is a globular cluster located 1 degree south of the galaxy group, NGC 7103. The constellation also harbors the wide spiral galaxy of NGC 6907.
NGC 6907
NGC 6907 is a barred spiral seen nearly face-on. It is just a fuzzy spot (mag. 11.3) in a small telescope.
M30
Messier 30 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, and is at a distance of about 26,000 light-years away from Earth.
Capricornus
credits:
Map: Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricornus
image: M30 wikipedia
www.seds.org/messier/Jpg/m30.jpg
NGC 6907
www.utahskies.org/image_library/deepsky/ngc/6907largAlKellyEdGrafton.jpg