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Puppis

The Stern (of the Ship)

Puppis is a constellation in the southern hemisphere.

It was originally part of the constellation Argo Navis, 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 stern) and Vela (the sail).

Puppis in the Night Sky
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."
This section describes the constellation as it is seen in the night sky.

For myth and star lore about Puppis click here.

Star maps based on maps provided by Sea & Sky

The stars of Puppis

Number Desig-
nation
Name
Number Desig-
nation
Name
1 M 93 Messier 93 / NGC 2447
6 ρ Pup Tureis
2 M 47 Messier 47 / NGC 2422
7 τ Pup Tau Puppis
3 M 46 Messier 46 / NGC 2437
8 ν Pup Nu Puppis
4 ζ Pup Naos
9 σ Pup Hadir
5 π Pup Ahadi
10 ξ Pup Azmidi

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