Puppis Constellation: The Ultimate Guide
Puppis (The stern)
Puppis is one of the constellations located in the southern celestial hemisphere. The constellation's name comes from Latin and means "Stern" it is represented by the bow of a ship.
The constellation Puppis was initially part of an overly large constellation called Argo Navis, which was sectioned into three distinct constellations, Puppis, Carina, and Vela.
The location of the constellation Puppis is essentially in the southern hemisphere and is fully visible from latitudes below 40° north.
Puppis covers a total area of 673 degrees. Ranking 20th in size among the 88 constellations in the night sky, meaning it is one of the most prominent constellations.
The brightest star in the constellation Puppis is Naos (ζ Puppis / ζ Pup / HD 66811), with an apparent magnitude of +2.21.
The constellation Puppis is also home to deep-sky objects, mainly globular clusters, and planetary nebulae.
There is no occurrence of meteor showers within the boundaries of the constellation.
The Mythology And History Of The Puppis Constellation
Ancient Egypt
In the ancient Egyptian culture, there was a constellation called Argo Navis, which occupied the regions currently occupied by the constellations of Carina, Vela, and Puppis; this constellation was associated with the "Ship of Osiris," an essential Egyptian god.
Greek Mythology
Puppis was part of the constellation Argo Navis; however, this constellation was associated with Jason's large ship and the Argonauts looking for the Golden Fleece in this culture.
Early Modern Period
In 1763 astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided the constellation Argo Navis into three sections because it was too large to be a single constellation; it was 28% larger than Hydra, the most prominent constellation today.
Being so large, it had too many stars of great luminosity that required a separate designación, so it was divided into three constellations Carina, Vela, and Puppis.
The three constellations were named after the parts of a ship, which corresponded to the position they used to have in the constellation Argo Navis.
Nowadays
In 1922 the International Astronomical Association added the constellation Puppis to the 88 official night sky constellations as a fully independent constellation. Since then, it has not undergone significant modifications in its boundaries or name.
Puppis currently covers a total area of 673 degrees. Ranking 20th in size among the 88 constellations in the night sky, meaning it is one of the most prominent constellations.
There are also books and celestial maps where see still represents the three constellations Carina, Puppis, and Vela as one, but that is no longer official.
How To Find The Puppis Constellation?
Visibility By Region
Puppis resides in the first quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ1) between 40° N and 90° S, which means that we can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries southern hemisphere of the earth and some countries of the northern hemisphere.
The constellation Puppis is visible in America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Japan, and Antarctica.
Puppis is not visible in regions above 40° N such as Canada, half of Europe such as the United Kingdom, Austria, Norway, Russia, Greenland, and Alaska.
Visibility By Season
Puppis is a constellation very close to the south pole, so it is visible almost all year round; however, February is the best month to visualize it.
The constellation Puppis is visible during winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Finding Puppis Constellation
The constellation Puppis is in the southern celestial hemisphere; it is also very close to the two brightest stars in the night sky, so it is easy to find.
The easiest way to locate the constellation Puppis is to locate the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus; then, we draw an imaginary straight line towards the brightest star, Sirius; the constellation Puppis is located right in the middle of the two.
Related Constellations
Stars in Puppis Constellation
The constellation Puppis officially contains 237 stars, of which 7 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Naos, Tureis, Turais, Tau Puppis, Nu Puppis, Hadir, and Azmidiske.
Naos (ζ Puppis / ζ Pup / HD 66811)
With an apparent magnitude of +2.21, it is the brightest star in the constellation Puppis, 900 light-years from Earth.
Naos is an exceptionally hot blue supergiant of spectral type O5Ia with a surface temperature of 42,000 K. It is a very massive star whose mass is 22.5 times greater than the Sun. It is also one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way.
Pi Puppis (π Pup / HD 56855 / HR 2773)
It is the second brightest star in the constellation Puppis with an apparent magnitude of +2.71. It is a binary star located about 1100 light-years away from the Solar System.
The system is formed by Pi Puppis A and The system is formed by Pi Puppis A and Pi Puppis B.Pi Puppis B.
Pi Puppis A is an orange supergiant star of spectral type K3Ib. Its luminosity is equivalent to 19,200 suns, and its radius is 290 times the solar radius, that is, 1.35 AU. Its mass is about 13 or 14 times greater than the solar mass.
Pi Puppis B is a star of spectral type B9.5, with 2.5 solar masses.
Other Puppis Stars:
- ν Puppis: A blue-white giant star of magnitude 3.17 and possible variable Beta Cephei.
- ξ Puppis (Azmidi or Azmidiske): A star of magnitude 3.34, a yellow supergiant about 1300 light-years away.
- ο Puppis: Blue subgiant star of magnitude 4.50 and star Be.
- ρ Puppis: Star, also called Tureis, is a yellow giant of magnitude 2.83 and a pulsating variable star of the Delta Scuti type.
- σ Puppis (Hadir): An orange giant star of magnitude 3.25.
- τ Puppis (Rehla or Al Rihla): Orange giant star and spectroscopic binary of magnitude 2.94.
- 2 Puppis: A star system containing the eclipsing binary PV Puppis.
- 5 Puppis: a binary star of magnitude 5.63.
- 11 Puppis (j Puppis): A luminous white-yellow giant star of magnitude 4.20.
- 18 Puppis: Binary star formed by a yellow dwarf and a red dwarf.
- 19 Puppis: An orange giant star of magnitude 4.73.
- 171 Puppis: Thick disk star of low metallicity.
- QZ Puppis (b Puppis): A rotating ellipsoidal variable star whose magnitude varies between 4.47 and 4.54.
- F Puppis (HD 57240): White star of magnitude 5.25.
- J Puppis: Blue supergiant star of magnitude 4.23.
- L1 and L2 Puppis: Double star formed by a white star Ap (L1) of magnitude 4.87 and a red giant (L2) of variable brightness between magnitude 2.6 and 6.2. Both stars are at least ten light-years apart from each other.
- QW Puppis (I Puppis): Variable star Gamma Doradus of magnitude 4.47.
- NW Puppis (ν2 Puppis / υ2 Puppis): Variable beta star Cephei of magnitude 5.11.
- R Puppis: White-yellow supergiant star
- V384 Puppis: A red supergiant star part of the cluster NGC 2439.
- V Puppis: An eclipsing binary star of magnitude 4.45; the two components, hot and massive stars, orbit around what appears to be a black hole.
- RS Puppis: Cepheid variable star surrounded by an immense nebula, whose distance (6500 light-years) has been measured with an error of only 1%.
- AQ Puppis and BN Puppis are Cepheid stars whose respective periods are 30.10 and 13.67 days.
- MX Puppis (r Puppis): A blue giant star of magnitude 4.81.
- QY Puppis: Orange supergiant star and semi-irregular variable.
- V339 Puppis: Be-type and variable Gamma Cassiopeiae star of mean magnitude 6.19.
- V596 Puppis (VV Pyxidis): An eclipsing binary star of magnitude 6.59.
- HD 44594: Yellow dwarf star of magnitude 6.59 whose characteristics are very similar to the Sun.
- HD 53705, HD 53706, and HD 53680: The three form a triple star system whose primary star is a yellow dwarf older than the Sun.
- HD 68450: A blue giant star of magnitude 6.44.
- WD 0751-252: White Dwarf Star
- LTT 2976 (Ross 429): Dwarf red star.
- Gliese 283: It is a system composed of a white dwarf and a red dwarf.
Deep Sky Objects
Puppis is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies.
In the case of Puppis, because it is a small constellation that only has star clusters and galaxies, some of them are:
Messier 46 (M46 / NGC 2437)
It is an open cumulus that lies at about 5,400 light-years from Earth and has about 300 million years.
The cluster NGC 2437 is the most amazing deep-sky body in the constellation Puppis, containing about 500 stars, of which 150 are brighter than magnitude 13. Its spatial diameter is around 30 light-years.
Other Deep-sky Objects In Puppis:
- Messier 93 (M93): It's another cluster open about 3600 light-years away.
- NGC 2451: An open cumulus containing the star c Puppis corresponds to two open clusters (called NGC 2451 A and NGC 2451 B) in the same line of sight.
- NGC 2438: Planetary nebula in the same visual field as the cluster M46. It's much closer to us than the cluster.
- NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula whose central star is one of the hottest known.
- Calabaza Nebula (OH 231.84 +4.22): The planetary protonebula at the center of the variable star Mira QX Puppis.
- NGC 2467: Active cosmic cloud classified as a star-forming region where HD 64315, a young blue massive star, is located.
- Puppis A is a supernova remnant with an estimated age of around 4600 years.
Meteor Showers
Within the constellation's boundaries, Puppis occurs a peculiar meteor shower called pi Puppids, which occurs between April 25 and 26 every five years when comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup leaves a trail as it passes near the sun.
Conclusions
- Puppis is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. The constellation's name comes from Latin and means "Stern," which corresponds to the bow of a ship.
- The constellation Puppis is between latitudes 40° N and 90° S. The best month to observe the constellation is in February.
- The easiest way to locate the constellation Puppis is to locate the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus; then, we draw an imaginary straight line towards the brightest star, Sirius; the constellation Puppis is located right in the middle of the two.
- The brightest star in the constellation Puppis is Naos (ζ Puppis / ζ Pup / HD 66811), with an apparent magnitude of +2.21.
- The most notable deep-sky body in the constellation Puppis is the globular cluster NGC 2437.
- Within the constellation's boundaries, Puppis occurs a shower of stars called pi Puppids.