Constellacions           Dates                  days

Sagittarius         Dic 18 - Ene 18            32

capricornus       Ene 19 - Feb 15           28

Aquarius           Feb 16 - Mar 11           24

Pisces                Mar 12 - Abr 18           38

Aries                 Abr 19 - May 13           25

Taurus              May 14 - Jun 19           37

Gemini               Jun 20 - Jul 20              31

Cancer               Jul 21 - Ago 9              20

Leo                    Ago 10 - Sep 15           37

Virgo                 Sep 16 - Oct 30            45

Libra                 Oct 31 - Nov 22            23

Scorpius           Nov 23 - Nov 29           7

Ophiuchus       Nov 30 - Dic 17            18

Ophiuchus (Serpent Holder)

is one of the signs of the Zodiac in sidereal astrology since 2011, includes the period between November 30th to December 17th.
Located between the signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius, tha IAU –International Astronomical Union- fiexed its position as a constellation en zodiacal line in 1930, though it is not openly acknowledged by Babilonian base astrology.
In 2011, Ophiuchus zodiacal status debate was revived given to the declarations of Parke Kunkle, from Minnesota Planetarium Society.
In Greek mythology, Ophiuchus correspond to Asclepius, son of Apollo and the human Coronis. He developed such skills in medicine, stating that he could even raise the dead. Insulted, Hades asked Zeus to kill him for violating the natural order of things, to which Zeus agreed. However, as a tribute of his worth, Zeus decided to place him in the sky surrounded by the serpent as a symbol of renewed life.
Its symbol is the rod of Asclepius, which is also medicine’s in west.

It is located in the sky very close to the core of Milky Way and in the opposite area to Orion. It is easily observable from April to October in both hemispheres.
The thing about Ophiuchus is that the ecliptic crosses the constellation by the south during the first half of December, therefore, it is actually a zodiac constellation but not acknowledged as such given his south limit was initially assigned to Scorpius. In addition, the entire constellation is approximately 10° north to the galactic equator, so we can see a large number of stars and star clusters.
Ophiuchus limits to the north with Serpens, Libra and Scorpius; to the west with Sagittarius, Aquila and again Serpens. Finally to the south with Hercules.
It has many important nebulae, as: M10, M12, M14, M107 and M9.

Capricornus (The Goat-Fish)

Capricorn is associated with the Greek god Pan, known by his lewd behavior and the invention of the pan flute. Some say he was a satyr, a man with goat legs, cloven hooves and horns.
He received honors when Rhea sent the sea monster Typhon to destroy the gods of Olympus. Pan plunged into a river and tried to become a fish to escape, but he only managed to get a failed transformation. When he got to land again, Typhon had already dismembered Zeus. To scare the monster, Pan made a shriek which allowed Hermes –the Messenger of the gods- get the members of Zeus again. Together, Hermes and Pan reassembled Zeus, whom rewarded Pan with a place among the stars.

Capricornus is located in southern hemisphere between the parallels 10° and 30°. The sun crosses this constellation during the end of January and the firsts days of February. It is visible from May to October in both hemispheres culminating in the meridian in the end of July and the beginning of August, lower and closer to the horizon from the northern hemisphere and almost in the zenith in the south. It is located 40° south the celestial equator.
This constellation doesn’t stand out precisely because of the bright stars, it has some of them and some globuslar cluster.
It limits to the north with the constellation of Aquarius and Aquila; to the east with Sagittarius; to the south with Microscopium and Pisces Austrinus; and to the west again with the constellation of Aquarius.


The main stars forming Capricornus are:
• Algedi: or Alpha Capricorni. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “goat”.
• Dabih: or Beta Capricorni. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “killer”, which refers to the old Arab tradition where a goat was sacrificed.
• Nashira: or Gamma Capricorni. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “bearer of good news”.

• Deneb Algedi: or Delta Capricorni. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “the tail of the goat”.

Sagittarius (The Archer)

Sagittarius, or the arch man from mythology, this constellation is the image of the centaur Chiron, a being who distinguished of the others by his wisdom and knowledge. It was born of the affairs between Cronus and the Phylira nymph, and had the strange form of half man, half horse, because his father had to become horse to generate it. According to the legend, her mother when seeing that she had generated a monster requested the Gods that transformed it, being turned into a linden tree.

Chiron was taught by Apolo and Artemis in the art of medicine and hunting, establishing a consultation in a grotto. His disciples were numerous: Castor, Pollux, Ulysses, etc. In the course of a combat, he was hurt by an arrow soaked in the blood of Hydra of Lerna, which produced terrible pain to him. Since he was inmortal, he did not want to continue living with a perpetual agony, reason why with the consent of the Gods, he shortly after offered his immortality to Prometheus, expiring. Zeus put him between the stars of the sky constituting the constellation of Sagittarius (the arch man).

Sagittarius, or the arch man, is a spectacular constellation of 700 square degrees located in southern hemisphere and observable from almost all the planet, but logically in in the South hemisphere we can contemplate it in its maximum splendor. In southern hemisphere it’s observable during the months of autumn, winter and spring; however for the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere is observable during the warm nights of summer at low height on the horizon.

The main stars forming this constellation are:
Rukbat: its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “knee”.
Kaus Australis: along with Kaus Borealis and Kaus Meridionalis they form the bow (kaus).
Alnast: its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “tip (of the arrow)”.
Ascella: its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “armpit”.
Nunki: its name comes from the Assyrian, meaning “star announced by the sea”, refering a zone in the sky with aquatic constellation (Aquarius, Psices, Piscis austrinus, etc.).
Arkat: its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “tendon”.

Other objects

M 20, a spectacular cluster with nebula of denominated emission including popularly known like leaves, of magnitude 6.3, very easy to locate. It is located closely together of M8, has an angular diameter of 28' of arc and it’s 5,200 light years away from Earth.
M 8, a precious cluster with associated nebula, of magnitude 5.0, it has an angular diameter of 80'x60 ' of arc popularly denominated “the cloudy Lagoon”.
M 21, a precious cluster of magnitude 5.9, 13' of arc of angular diameter. It is 4,200 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 4.5 million years, is formed by stars from the eighth magnitude.
M 23, a cluster of magnitude 5.5 located to the north of the constellation, it has an angular diameter of 27' of arc and it is 2,200 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 220 million years; it is a relatively old stellar cluster.
M 17, denominated “the swan”, it has an associated nebula to the north of the constellation closely together with Ophiuchus. It has an angular diameter of 11' of arc, and it’s 4,800 light years away from Earth.
M 18, a cluster located to the south of the previous one, of magnitude 6.9 of 9' of arc of angular diameter. It is 3,900 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 31 million years.
M 28, a precious globular cluster of magnitude 6.9 located in the center of the constellation. It has an angular diameter of 15' of arc, and it is 18,900 light years away from Earth.
M 22, a globular cluster next to the previous one, of magnitude 5.1 with an angular diameter of 17' of arc. It is 10,000 light years away from Earth.
M 54, a globular cluster located to the south of the constellation, of magnitude 7.7 of 5,5' of angular diameter. It is 70,000 light years away from Eartht, much farther that the nucleus of our galaxy that is 30,000 light years away from Earth, therefore, is in the other part of our galaxy.
M 69, a precious and small globular cluster located to the south of the constellation, of magnitude 7.7 and 3,8' of angular diameter. It is 33,000 light years away from Earth.
M 55, a globular cluster located to the southwest of the constellation, with a 7.0 of magnitude and an angular diameter of 15' of arc. It is 16,600 light years away from Earth.

Scorpius (The Scorpion)

Scorpuis is a beautiful constellation of southern hemisphere with the exact form of a Scorpion fit between parallels 10° and 45°. It is observable in northern hemisphere from April to September and in the southern hemisphere in Autumn, Winter and Spring. Its shape is easy to identify. We can highlight the star Antares, which is also known as the heart of the scorpion, the brightest and the redder star of the constellation.

It limits to the north with Ophiuchus, to the east with Libra and Lupus, to the south with Ara and Norma, and to the west with Corona Australis, Sagittarius and again Ophiuchus.

The myth of Scorpio comes from an old Greek legend related to the attempted rape of Artemis (the Moon) by the giant Orion.

In the legend it is said that Artemis fell at the feet of his father (Zeus) and, hugging his knees, asked for a short tunic, a jacket shoes, a quiver of arrows and a bow; just as his brother, Apollo, had. In classical mythology, Artemis is the goddess of hunting and forest and is symbolized by a bear.

Orion was a giant, famous because of its beauty and strength, the son of the Earth and Poseidon. His stature allowed him to walk on the sea floor keeping his head over the water. They say that one day, Artemis was hunting when Orion appeared. He saw her young and beautiful and tried to seduce her –it is said that the giant tried to rape her. But Artemis was a caste divinity to defend herself from Orion, she requested the help of a scorpion. This deadly scorpion, stung the giant and released her.

To reward the scorpion, the goddess placed it in the sky, just on the opposite side of the constellation of Orion.

Other objects

           M 4, a spectacular globular cluster located to less of 1º of arc of Antares and very easy to identify. Its magnitude is of 5.90, is located 6,800 light years away from Earth, it has an angular diameter of 26', therefore, it is enormous compared with other globular clusters.

            M 80, a precious globular cluster located at the north of the constellation, its magnitude is 7.2 and it has 8,9' of angular diameter, it’s located 26,000 light years away from Earth.

           M 7, a cluster located at the south of the constellation, closely together of Sagittarius, of magnitude 3.3 formed by more than 80 stars. It has 80' arc of angular diameter, it’s located 780 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 220 million years.

           M 6, a cluster located in the southwest of the constellation near M7 and next to Sagittarius, of magnitude 4.2 and angular diameter of 14' of arc, is 2,000 light years away from Earth. It has a considered age of 51 million years.

Libra(The Scales)

It’s not a very bright constellation, nor easy to distinct, located between Virgo –to the west– and Scorpio –to the east. Due to its low visual appeal, it results easier to find it starting with Scorpio. To do this, we must extend the Scorpion claws in order to form bigger claws. The “fulcrum” of the scales –Zuben Elgenubi– lies almost exactly on the ecliptic, midway and a few degrees north of a line extending between Spica (Virgo) and Antares (Scorpius).
The scales symbolized the identic length of day and night during equinoxes: two thousand years ago, the sun crossing Libra marked September equinox. Roman astrologers interpreted these scales as The Justice, held by Astrea, the goddess of justice. It is also said that Libra represents the Golden chariot of Hades (Pluto).
Libra limits to the north with the constellation of Serpens, Cauda and Virgo –which also limits with Libra in the east-, to the south with Hydra and Lupus, and to the west with Scorpius and Ophiuchus.

The main stars forming Libra are:

Alpha Librae, ; called Zuben Elgenubi (southern claw), of magnitude 2,73 and White colored. It is located 77 light years away from Earth.
Beta Librae, ; called Zuben Elschemali (northern claw), of magnitude 2,61 and blue colored. It is located 160 light years away from Earth.
Gamma Librae, ; called Zuben Elakrab, of magnitude 3,92 and orange colored. It is located 152 light years away from Earth.

Other objects

NGC 5897, a precious globular accumulation of magnitude 8.60, 9' diameter arc, it is located 38,000 light years away from Earth.

Virgo (The Virgin)

Virgo, also known as Astrea –the daughter of Zeus and Themis, therefore, a titan- personified along with her mother the justice. According to other sources, she was the daughter of Astraeus and Eos.
She was the last inmortal who lived amog the humans during Cronus Golden Age, leaving in last place when it became the Age of Bronze. Zeus lifted her to the sky as a constellation, and the scale of justice in her hands became the constellation of Libra.
The reward for her loyalty may have been she was allowed to keep her virginity (she’s the only virgin amog the titans) and her place in the stars.


Virgo is one of the biggest constellation in the sky with almost 1300 square degrees, only surpassed by the constellation of Hydra with 1303 square degrees. It’s located in celestial equator ans it is visible in both hemispheres for more tan six months from February to August. In addition, it’s the biggest zodiacal constellation, therefore, the sun remains on it for more tan 40 days (concretely 45 days) making it the longest solar month.
It limits to the north with Boötes and Coma Berenices; to the east with Leo; to the south with Crater, Corvus and Hydra; and finally to the west with Libra and Serpens Caput.


The main stars forming Virgo are:
• Spica: or Alpha Virginis. Its name comes from the Latin, meaning “the spike”. It refers to the spike the virgin holds in her hand.
• Zavijavh: or Beta Virginis. Its name comes from the Arabic, meaning “the corner”.
• Vindemiatrix: or Epsilon Virginis. Its name comes from the Latin, meaning “the grape-harvestress”.

Other objects

M61; precious spiral galaxy Sb located in the center of the constellation of magnitude 9.6, 6,6'x6 ' of angular diameter.

M49; elliptical very shining galaxy, E; of located magnitude 8.4 near the previous one of 8'x7 ' of angular diameter.

M86; elliptical galaxy of magnitude 8.90 of 12'x9 ' located in the north of the constellation near Comma in the accumulation of Virgo of galaxies.

M87; elliptical galaxy of magnitude 8.60 of 7'x7 ' of diameter arc, is in the same accumulation of Virgo of galaxies.

M98; elliptical galaxy of magnitude 9.80 of 3,4'x3 ' of diameter arc, is in the same accumulation of Virgo of galaxies.

M60; elliptical galaxy of magnitude 8.8 of 3'x2 ' of arc located in the accumulation of Virgo of galaxies.

M49; elliptical galaxy of magnitude 8.4 of 8'x7 ' of arc located in the accumulation of Virgo of galaxies.

M104; precious denominated galaxy the one of the hat by its almost perfect form to a hat whose Vista from the Earth is almost of profile. One is closely together located to the south of the constellation of Corvus. It has a magnitude of 8,0, has an angular diameter of 8,9'x4'.