Constellation, Keel
Carina
The keel of Argo, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. It holds Canopus, the second brightest star of the night sky, named after the helmsman of King Menelaus in Greek legend.
From New York the constellation Carina never rises above the horizon: it belongs to the other hemisphere’s sky.
From New York the constellation Carina never rises above the horizon: it belongs to the other hemisphere’s sky.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Carina. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Carina was once part of Argo Navis, the ship in which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece. Ptolemy listed Argo as one great constellation. The French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille found it large and unwieldy and split it into three parts: Carina, the keel or hull, Vela, the sails, and Puppis, the stern. He kept one series of Greek letters for the whole ship, which is why Carina has an alpha and a beta, while Vela and Puppis do not.
Greek writers said Canopus was named after the helmsman of King Menelaus, who died in Egypt on the voyage home from Troy. In China it was the Old Man of the South Pole, linked with the god of long life. In 1843 the star Eta Carinae flared up until it outshone Canopus, throwing off the cloud of gas now called the Homunculus. It has since faded to the edge of naked-eye visibility.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Carina, Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Argo Navis
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canopus | α Car | -0.62 | 309 light-years |
| Miaplacidus | β Car | 1.67 | 113 light-years |
| Avior | ε Car | 1.86 | 605 light-years |
| Aspidiske | ι Car | 2.21 | 766 light-years |
| θ Car | θ Car | 2.74 | 456 light-years |
| υ Car | υ Car | 2.92 | 1,437 light-years |
| ω Car | ω Car | 3.29 | 342 light-years |
| HIP 51576 | HIP 51576 | 3.30 | 483 light-years |
| HIP 50371 | HIP 50371 | 3.39 | 658 light-years |
| HIP 45080 | HIP 45080 | 3.43 | 447 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 495 square degrees (34 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Car |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | Created when Lacaille divided Ptolemy’s great ship Argo Navis into keel, sails and stern in his southern catalogue of 1756 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 45 |
| Centre (J2000) | 9.5 h, -63° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC3372 · Carina Nebula | HII region | 3.0 |
| NGC3532 · Wishing Well Cluster | Open cluster | 3.0 |
| NGC2516 | Open cluster | 3.8 |
| NGC3114 | Open cluster | 4.2 |
| IC2581 | Open cluster | 4.3 |
| NGC3293 | Open cluster | 4.7 |
| NGC2808 | Globular cluster | 5.7 |
| NGC3572 | Open cluster | 6.6 |
| NGC3324 | Cluster with nebula | 6.7 |
| NGC3247 | HII region | 7.6 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.