The Ship Of The Argonauts
Argo Navis
July 8 - 17 & September 22 - 28
The huge constellation of Argo Navis, the ship of the Argonauts, has now been divided into three: Carina, Vela and Puppis, and it dominated the skies of the southern hemisphere from January until May. Carina is the Keel, and its brightest star is Canopus, which was worshipped in the desert as the source of the colour in jewels, and can best be seen in the northern hemisphere in early February from the latitude of Florida. 1200 times brighter than our sun, it lies due south of the Dog Star, Sirius, in Canis Major. Canopus is called after the greek captain of the fleet which conquered Troy, and is still used in spacecraft navigation. The star Markeb is part of Vela, now a separate constellation, which forms the sails of the ship.
