Puppis

Mythology

Puppis is part of a much larger constellation called Argo Navis. Argo Navis was the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts on their quest to steal the golden fleece. It is no longer recognized as a constellation, but has been broken down into smaller ones of which Puppis is one. The Arabs saw this group of stars as two tents with the surrounding stars representing camels.

For the Observer

Autumn and Winter Skies

Zeta Puppis (08h 01.8m -39°52') is a class O5 supergiant and is one of the most luminous stars in our galaxy. The star is 2400 light years distant and has a magnitude of 2.2. The actual luminosity is about 60,000 times that of our Sun.

M46 (NGC2437) (07h 39.6m -14°42') Open cluster of about 150 stars between 10th and 13th magnitude. Most of the members are class AO blue giants. The cluster is about 4700 light years distant.

M47 (NGC2422) (07h 34.3m -14°22') Bright open cluster very close to M46. There are about 45 members in the cluster, most are A and B type stars. The cluster is 1540 light years distant and about 17 light years accross. At the center of the cluster is a nice double star.

M93 (NGC 2447) (07h 42.4m -23°45') A bright open cluster in the Puppis Milky Way. There are about 64 members and the cluster is 3400 light years distant. The diameter of the cluster is 18 light years.