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Constellations Argo Navis The Ship

Argo Navis is a large, now obsolete constellation in the southern hemisphere.

Named after the ship Argo, the constellation was known throughout classical Greek history. It was the largest of Ptolemy's original 48 constellations. Because of its unwieldy size, French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille suggested in 1763 to divide Argo Navis into three separate constellations. In 1928, the International Astronomical Union made de Lacaille's suggestion official and the Constellation is now split into Carina (the hull or the keel), Puppis (the poop deck) and Vela (the sails). Ian Ridpath writes that "...there is, though, still an echo of Argo’s former unity." When de Lacaille designed the three succeeding constellations, he "... used just one sequence of Greek letters, from Alpha to Omega, as though Argo were still a single figure. The designations Alpha and Beta were given to the two brightest stars of Argo, which are in Carina; hence there are no stars labelled Alpha or Beta in either Puppis or Vela. Equally, the brightest star in Puppis is Zeta and the brightest in Vela is Gamma, but there is no Zeta or Gamma Carinae."

Argo Navis presented by SkyEye

This section describes the constellation as it is seen in the night sky. For myth and star lore about Argo Navis click here.

Star maps based on maps provided by Sea & Sky

The stars of Argo Navis

Number	Desig- nation	Name		Number	Desig- nation	Name
1	α Car	Canopus		13	τ Pup	Tau Puppis
2	β Car	Miaplacidus		14	ν Pup	Nu Puppis
3	ε Car	Avior		15	σ Pup	Hadir
4	ι Car	Aspidiske		16	ξ Pup	Azmidi
5	θ Car	Theta Carinae		17	γ Vel	Suhail al Muhlif
6	υ Car	Upsilon Carinae		18	δ Vel	Alsephina
7	ω Car	Omega Carinae		19	λ Vel	Suhail
8	η Car	Foramen		20	κ Vel	Markeb
9	χ Car	Chi Carinae		21	μ Vel	Alherem
10	ζ Pup	Naos		22	φ Vel	Tseen Ke
11	π Pup	Ahadi		23	ψ Vel	Psi Velorum
12	ρ Pup	Tureis

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