Puppis


Puppis


English nameStern

Major
stars
zeta PuppisNaosmagn. 2,3RA: 08h 03m 35.08sDec: -40° 00' 11.5"
ny Puppismagn. 3,2RA: 06h 37m 45.66sDec: -43° 11' 45.3"
xi Puppismagn. 3,5RA: 07h 49m 17.66sDec: -24° 51' 35.2"
pi Puppismagn. 2,7RA: 07h 17m 08.59sDec: -37° 05' 51.0"
rho Puppismagn. 2,9RA: 08h 07m 32.66sDec: -24° 18' 15.3"
sigma Puppismagn. 3,3RA: 07h 29m 13.89sDec: -43° 18' 05.7"
tau Puppismagn. 2,8RA: 06h 49m 56.16sDec: -50° 36' 53.0"
SAO 218549magn. 3,1RA: 07h 13m 32.33sDec: -44° 38' 23.5"

DescriptionBig constellation of the southern hemisphere, to the southeast of Canis Maior.

Puppis contains some double stars and some variable stars. Among the first there is xi Puppis, a yellow supergiant of third magnitude with an orange companion of fifth magnitude; among the second, there is V Puppis, an eclipse binary situated in the southern zone of the constellation, which oscillates from the magnitude 4,5 to the 5,1 with a period of 35 hours.

M47In the northern region, near the border with Canis Maior and Monoceros, there is M47 (reproduced here on the left), an open cluster composed by about fifty stars, a lot of which reach the sixth magnitude: excellent to be seen with binoculars. Another open cluster is NGC 2451, a small group of bright stars scattered around an orange supergiant of fourth magnitude.


Mythology
and history
The constellation represents the stern of the Argonauts' ship (see the mythology of Carina).


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