The Stern (of the Argo)
| Abbreviation: | Pup |
| Genitive: | Puppis |
| Origin: | Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, 1756 |
| Fully Visible: | 90°S – 39°N |
The Argo was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts who sought the Golden Fleece in Greek myth. The huge constellation Argo Navis was devised by the Greeks to honour this vessel. In the mid-eighteenth century, French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713–1762) divided this unwieldy constellation into three smaller pieces: Carina, the keel of the ship; Puppis, the stern or poop deck; and Vela, the sails. However, he retained the Bayer designations of the original constellation so only Carina has an α star, only Vela has a γ star, etc.
Notable Features
| Visible Named Stars | ||
|---|---|---|
| ζ Pup | Naos | This name is derived from the Greek word Ναῡς meaning 'ship'. |
| ξ Pup | Azmidi | This star sometimes appears as Asmidiske in older star atlases and catalogues. It means 'the little shield' in Greek. |
| ρ Pup | Tureis | This name also means 'the little shield' but in Arabic. It is derived from al‑turais. |
| Other Interesting Stars | ||
| HD 48265 | Nosaxa | This eighth-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet. It is located not far from the much brighter star τ Pup. |
| WASP‑161 | Tislit | This eleventh-magnitude star is known to have at least one exoplanet and is found in the far northern regions of this constellation. |
| Deep Sky Objects | ||
| M46 | Binoculars are the best way to explore this bright open cluster. It is also mentioned in the New General Catalogue as number 2437. | |
| M47 | Another open cluster, it is situated very close to M46 so that both of them will fit into the same wide-angle binocular and telescope field. Its NGC number is 2422. | |
| M93 | This open cluster, also known as NGC 2447, is another good binocular object. | |
| C71 | This open cluster is so compact and so distant that it resembles a globular cluster except under high magnifications. It is also known as NGC 2477. | |
| NGC 2451 | This constellation is rich in open star clusters and NGC 2451 is visible to the naked eye. It is actually two open clusters which lie along the same line of sight. | |
| Meteor Shower Radiants | ||
| 137 PPU | π Puppids | This April shower is so young that it has been observed only since 1972. These meteors are very slow but bright, and the activity levels vary from year to year. Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is associated with this shower. |
Copyright © 1995–2023 by L.M. Stockman and David Harper