Carina (constellation) - History and Mythology

History and Mythology

Carina was once a part of Argo Navis, the great ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece. The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided the Argo into three component constellations in 1763, including Carina, the Keel.

Despite the division, Lacaille kept Argo's Bayer designations. Therefore Carina has the α, β and ε, Vela has γ and δ, Puppis has ζ, and so on.

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