Puppis (abbreviation: Pup), the Stern of Jason's ship (the Argos), is a large southern constellation that spans a region of the Milky Way rich in interesting star fields. It shares a single sequence of Bayer letters (see Bayer designation with the other former parts of Argo Navis, Carina and Vela. See below for details of its brightest stars and interesting deep sky objects.
| Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| star |
vis mag |
abs mag |
Spec type |
distance (ly) |
RA (h m s) |
Dec (° ' ") |
| Zeta (Naos) |
2.21 |
-5.96 |
O5Ibf |
1,400 |
08 03 35 |
-40 00 12 |
| Pi |
2.71 |
-4.92 |
K3Ib |
1,090 |
07 17 09 |
-37 05 51 |
| Rho (Turais) |
2.83v |
1.41 |
F2IIp |
63 |
08 07 33 |
-24 18 15 |
| Tau |
2.94 |
-0.81 |
K0III |
183 |
06 49 56 |
-50 36 53 |
| Nu |
3.17 |
-2.40 |
B8III |
423 |
06 37 46 |
-43 11 45 |
| Sigma |
3.25 |
-0.51 |
K5III |
184 |
07 29 14 |
-43 18 05 |
| Xi (Asmidiske) |
3.34 |
-4.74 |
G6II |
1,350 |
07 49 18 |
-24 51 35 |
| c |
3.62 |
-4.53 |
K4III |
1,390 |
07 45 15 |
-37 58 07 |
| a |
3.71 |
-1.41 |
G5III |
345 |
07 52 13 |
-40 34 33 |
| 3 |
3.94 |
-8.05 |
A2Iabe |
8,150 |
07 43 48 |
-28 57 18 |
| Other objects of interest |
|
|
| name |
type of object |
notes |
| NGC 2438 |
planetary nebula |
Located near the edge of M46 (see below) but as a foreground object. Magnitude 10.8; diameter 1.1'; distance 2,900 light-years; RA 07h 41.8m, Dec -14° 44' |
| NGC 2440 |
planetary nebula |
A young, butterfly-shaped planetary containing one of the hottest white dwarfs known. Magnitude 10.8; diameter 16"; distance 3,600 light-years; RA 07h 42m, Dec -18° 13' |
| Puppis A |
supernova remnant |
See separate entry |
| M46 (NGC 2437) |
open cluster |
A very rich cluster with more than 500 stars. Magnitude 6.1; diameter 27'; RA 07h 41.8m, Dec -14° 49' |
| M47 (NGC 2422) |
open cluster |
A cluster of about 50 stars, marginally visible with naked eye and well seen with binoculars. Magnitude 4.4; diameter 30'; RA 07h 36.6m, Dec -14° 30' |
| NGC 2451 |
open cluster |
A large, scattered group of bright stars, near the center of which is the orange supergiant c Pup. Magnitude 2.8; diameter 45'; RA 07h 45.4m, Dec -37° 58' |
| NGC 2477 |
open cluster |
Among the most beautiful clusters in this area, containing about 300 stars. Magnitude 5.8; diameter 27'; distance 3,300 light-years; RA 07h 52.3m, Dec -38° 33' |