Delta Capricorni (δ Cap, δ Capricorni), also traditionally named Deneb Algedi and Scheddi, is a quaternary star

Binary star

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...

 system approximately 39 light-year

Light-year

A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...

s away in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 of Capricornus

Capricornus

Capricornus 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...

 (the Sea Goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

). The primary star in the system is a white giant star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 and the combined light of its four members makes it the brightest "single" star within the constellation. The traditional names are from the Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 ذنب الجدي ðanab al-jady, meaning "the tail of the goat." As it represents the fishlike tail of a celestial goat, Deneb Algedi is astrologically

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

 flexible, associated with good and bad fortune alike. It was one of the fifteen Behenian stars of medieval astrology, associated with chalcedony

Chalcedony

Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...

, marjoram

Marjoram

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours...

 and the kabbalistic symbol . Because it is near the ecliptic

Ecliptic

The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun...

, Delta Capricorni can be occulted

Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...

 by the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

, and also (rarely) by planet

Planet

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

s.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Line of Ramparts

Encampment (Chinese constellation)

The Encampment mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.-Asterisms:...

, refers to an asterism consisting of δ Capricorni, κ Capricorni

Kappa Capricorni

Kappa Capricorni is a star in the constellation Capricornus. κ Capricorni is a yellow G-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.72 and is approximately 291 light years from Earth....

, ε Capricorni

Epsilon Capricorni

Epsilon Capricorni is a triple star system in the constellation Capricornus. It also has the traditional star name Castra or Kastra, meaning "fort" or "military camp" in Latin...

, γ Capricorni

Gamma Capricorni

Gamma Capricorni is a giant star in the constellation Capricornus. It has the traditional name Nashira, which comes from the Arabic سعد ناشرة - sa'd nashirah for "the lucky one" or "bearer of good news"....

, ι Aquarii

Iota Aquarii

Iota Aquarii is a star in the constellation Aquarius.Iota Aquarii is a blue-white B-type subgiant with an apparent magnitude of +4.29. It is approximately 173 light years from Earth.-References:*...

, λ Aquarii

Lambda Aquarii

Lambda Aquarii is a star in the constellation Aquarius. It has the obscure traditional names Hydor and Ekkhysis, from the ancient Greek ὕδωρ "water" and ἔκχυσις "outpouring"....

, σ Aquarii

Sigma Aquarii

Sigma Aquarii is a double star in the constellation Aquarius. It is approximately 265 light years from Earth.Sigma Aquarii is an astrometric binary. The visible component is a white A-type subgiant with an apparent magnitude of +4.82. The orbital period of the binary is 654 days.-References:*...

, φ Aquarii

Phi Aquarii

Phi Aquarii is a star in the constellation Aquarius.Phi Aquarii is a M-type red giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.22. It is approximately 222 light years from Earth.-References:*...

, 27 Piscium, 29 Piscium, 33 Piscium and 30 Piscium. Consequently, δ Capricorni itself is known as

Stellar system

Delta Capricorni is a four-star system (otherwise known as a quaternary system). The primary, Delta Capricorni A, is classified a white giant star of the spectral type "A". The system is a spectroscopic binary whose two components are of magnitude +3.2 and +5.2, and separated by 0.0018 arcseconds. Similar to Algol, Delta Capricorni A is an eclipsing binary. Its unresolved companion orbits with δ Capricorni A around their common centre of mass every 1.022768 days, causing the brightness to drop 0.2 magnitudes during eclipses.

Two other stars are thought to orbit further out in the system. The sixteenth magnitude Delta Capricorni C is one arcminute away, while the thirteenth magnitude Delta δ Capricorni D is two arcminutes away from the primary.