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Stars and Sticks| Abbreviation | Car |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Keel |
| Pronunciation Guide is based on “Pronouncing Astronomical Names,” published in 1943 by the American Astronomical Society. | cuh-RYE-nuh |
| Genitive The genitive is the Latin possessive form used in star names. For example, Alpha Orionis means “the Alpha of Orion.” | kuh-REE-nee |
| Best Month | March |
| Visibility | Southern |
| Origin | AncientThese figures are rooted in the classical Greek and Mesopotamian traditions cataloged by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. |
| Author | Lacaille (Split) |
| Type | constellation |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Description | The Keel of the legendary ship Argo was once part of the enormous ancient constellation Argo Navis before Lacaille divided it into three parts in the 1750s. Carina hosts Canopus, the second brightest star in the entire night sky at magnitude -0.74 — a brilliant white-yellow supergiant about 310 light-years away and 10,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Because it lies so far south it was invisible to the ancient Greeks but was used for millennia by navigators in the southern hemisphere. The constellation also contains the extraordinary Eta Carinae Nebula, surrounding one of the most massive and unstable star systems known — a candidate for a future supernova visible in daylight. |
| Asterism | False Cross: A slightly larger and fainter cross often confused with the Southern Cross. |
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Images: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik · IAU and Sky & Telescope · Stellarium — Full credits →