Puppis - Downloadable article
Bountiful star clusters join with a few bright planetary nebulae to make Puppis the Stern an observer's delight.
By
Tom Polakis —
Published:
March 3, 2009This downloadable article is from an Astronomy magazine 45-article series called "Celestial Portraits." The collection highlights all 88 constellations in the sky and explains how to observe each constellation's deep-sky targets. The articles feature star charts, stunning pictures, and constellation mythology. We've put together 11 digital packages. Each one contains four Celestial Portraits articles for you to purchase and download.
"Puppis" is one of four articles included in Celestial Portraits Package 4.
The winter sky presents a multitude of brilliant stars, yet none commands our attention more than Sirius — the luminary of Canis Major and the brightest star in the night sky. You can find Sirius easily using the familiar shape of Orion the Hunter: Simply draw an imaginary line through the three stars that form Orion's Belt and extend it to the southeast. If you continue that line for an equal distance past Sirius, you'll find yourself smack in the middle of this month's constellation Puppis the Stern.
Puppis once combined with its neighbors Carina, Pyxis, and Vela to form the giant constellation Argo Navis, the Ship of the Argonauts. French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided this monster ship of the southern sky into four parts in the 18th century. Unfortunately, the southerly location of Puppis means Northern Hemisphere observers have only a narrow window in which to view the constellation, with the best times for evening viewing coming in February and March. To read the complete article, purchase and download Celestial Portraits Package 4. |
Deep-sky objects in Puppis
NGC 2298, M47 (NGC 2422), Melotte 71, NGC 2439, M46 (NGC 2437), NGC 2438, NGC 2440, Minkowski 1-18, M93 (NGC 2447), NGC 2451, 2 Puppis, NGC 2452, NGC 2477, NGC 2467, NGC 2539, NGC 2559, NGC 2566 |
Package 4 contains the following Celestial Portraits articles
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