Argo Navis
Constellation | ||
Area 1667 sq. deg. | | |
Main stars | 32 | |
---|---|---|
Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 178 | |
Stars with planets | 24 | |
Stars brighter than 3.00m | 12 | |
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 7 | |
Brightest star | Canopus (α Arg) (0.72m) | |
Messier objects | 3 | |
Meteor showers | ||
Bordering constellations | ||
Visible at latitudes between + 90 °.Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of February-March. |
Argo Navis (the Ship Argo), or simply Argo, is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations, now a grouping of three
The constellation proved to be of unwieldy size, as it was 28% larger than the
Argo derived from the ship Argo in Greek mythology, sailed by Jason and the Argonauts to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece.[1] Some stars of Puppis and Vela can be seen from Mediterranean latitudes in winter and spring, the ship appearing to skim along the "river of the Milky Way."[2] The precession of the equinoxes has caused the position of the stars from Earth's viewpoint to shift southward. Though most of the constellation was visible in Classical times, the constellation is now not easily visible from most of the northern hemisphere.[3] All the stars of Argo Navis are easily visible from the tropics southward and pass near zenith from southern temperate latitudes. The brightest of these is Canopus (α Carinae), the second-brightest night-time star, now assigned to Carina.
History
Development of the Greek constellation
Argo Navis is known from Greek texts, which derived it from Egypt around 1000 BC.[4] Plutarch attributed it to the Egyptian "Boat of Osiris."[4] Some academics theorized a Sumerian origin related to the Epic of Gilgamesh, a hypothesis rejected for lack of evidence that Mesopotamian cultures considered these stars, or any portion of them, to form a boat.[4]
Over time, Argo became identified exclusively with ancient Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. In Ptolemy's Almagest, Argo Navis occupies the portion of the Milky Way between Canis Major and Centaurus, with stars marking such details as the "little shield", the "steering-oar", the "mast-holder", and the "stern-ornament",[5] which continued to be reflected in cartographic representations in celestial atlases into the nineteenth century (see below). The ship appeared to rotate about the pole sternwards, so nautically in reverse. Aratus, the Greek poet / historian living in the third century BCE, noted this backward progression writing, "Argo by the Great Dog's [Canis Major's] tail is drawn; for hers is not a usual course, but backward turned she comes ...".[6]
The constituent modern constellations
In modern times, Argo Navis was considered unwieldy due to its enormous size (28% larger than
The final breakup and abolition of Argo Navis was proposed by
In addition, the constellation
Representations in other cultures
In Vedic period astronomy, which drew its zodiac signs and many constellations from the period of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Indian observers saw the asterism as a boat.[17]
The Māori had several names for the constellation, including Te Waka-o-Tamarereti (the canoe of Tamarereti),[18] Te Kohi-a-Autahi (an expression meaning "cold of autumn settling down on land and water"),[19] and Te Kohi.[20]
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b c d Ridpath, Ian. "Argo Navis". Star Tales. Retrieved 14 Mar 2019.
- ISBN 978-3-8496-7820-3.
- ^ Eastlick, P. "Argo Navis". Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-319-22795-5– via Google Books.
- ISBN 0715615882. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
- ^ Brown, Robert Jr. (1885). The Phainomena, or the Heavenly Display of Aratos, done into English Verse. Oxford University: Longmans, Green. p. 40.
- Lacaille, Nicolas-Louis de(1763). Coelum Australe Stelliferum.
- ^ a b c Lacaille, N.L. de (1763). Coelum australe stelliferum. H.L. Guerin & L.F. Delatour. pp. 7ff.
- .
- Bibcode:1922PA.....30..469R.
- Bibcode:1930dsct.book.....D.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-939923-78-6.
- ^ Ley, Willy (December 1963). "The Names of the Constellations". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 90–99.
- ISBN 978-1-84353-800-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4419-7624-6.
- ISBN 978-3-319-22795-5– via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-94-011-4179-6– via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-9811002168.
- ^ Best, Elsdon (July 1903). "Food Products of Tuhoeland: being notes on the food-supplies of non-agricultural tribes of the natives of New Zealand; together with some account of various customs, superstitions, &c., pertaining to foods". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 35: 78.
- Bibcode:1941msra.book.....M– via Google Books.
External links
- Starry Night Photography : Argo Navis Image
- Ian Ridpath's Star Tales – Argo Navis
- Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Argo (Navis) (medieval and early modern images of Argo Navis)