Carina, the Keel, is a southern constellation carved from the old ship Argo, home of Canopus, the brightest star after Sirius, and of the great Carina Nebula.
At a glance
| stars in the figure | 15 |
|---|---|
| not placed by measurement | HIP 54751, HIP 54463 (no usable parallax; left out of the depth below) |
| nearest star of the figure | Alsephina, 80.6 light-years (24.7 pc) |
| farthest star of the figure | Gamma² Velorum, 1,120 light-years (342 pc) |
| depth | the farthest is 14 × farther than the nearest |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Carina
Carina was once the keel of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, a single vast Greek constellation that the French astronomer Lacaille split into Carina, Puppis and Vela. The figure drawn here still borrows stars from Vela, a reminder that they were one ship. Canopus, a luminous white supergiant, marks the keel’s end; Miaplacidus, Avior and Aspidiske complete it.
Carina lies along a brilliant stretch of the southern Milky Way. The Carina Nebula, larger and brighter than the Orion Nebula, holds Eta Carinae, a monster star that once flared to rival the brightest in the sky. Nearby shine the Southern Pleiades and the Wishing Well Cluster. Avior and Aspidiske, with two stars of Vela, make the False Cross, often mistaken for the Southern Cross. Carina is a far-southern constellation.
What you see in the piece
Flown out to, the keel splits from Alsephina, a near neighbour, to Gamma² Velorum far behind it, and the Carina Nebula with Eta Carinae lies deeper still, along the Milky Way’s arm.
Measured or modelled
HIP 54751 and HIP 54463 have no usable parallax, so their distances are not measured: the piece pins them at a stand-in distance only so their lines can still draw, and the card leaves them out of the nearest, farthest and depth.
Questions
Can you see Canopus from the northern hemisphere?
Only from fairly southern latitudes, low on the horizon in winter. From most of Europe Canopus never rises.
How far away are the stars of Carina?
Of the stars with a measured distance, they range from Alsephina, 80.6 light-years (24.7 pc), to Gamma² Velorum, 1,120 light-years (342 pc): the farthest is 14 × farther than the nearest. HIP 54751 and HIP 54463 have no usable parallax, so their distances are not measured.