Puppis

Puppis is a southern sky constellation, one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It represents the stern of the Argo Navis, the mythic ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The Latin name Puppis means “the stern.” The constellation was created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century when the larger Argo Navis was subdivided into three smaller constellations: Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern), and Vela (the sails). In 1930 the IAU formally defined its boundaries to standardize celestial maps.

Puppis lies in the southern celestial hemisphere and is part of a region rich in bright stars and deep-sky objects visible from southern latitudes. The brightest star in Puppis is Zeta Puppis, also known as Naos, a hot and massive blue-white O-type giant with a strong stellar wind. The constellation contains a number of other notable stars and hosts various deep-sky objects identified in modern catalogs, including open clusters and emission nebulae within its boundaries.

From an observational perspective, Puppis is most readily viewed by observers in the southern hemisphere with a clear sky, particularly during months when the southern sky is prominent in the evening. In modern astronomy, Puppis continues to serve as a reference region on celestial maps, illustrating how the historic Argo Navis was divided into more manageable portions for precise mapping and study.