DMI image reference Car. « Previous || Next » Constellations A » H || Constellations I » V
Roll mouse over picture to see constellation figures and outlines
Image and text ©2008 Akira Fujii/David Malin Images.
In the picture above the image covers 70.6 x 56.5 degrees.
Image centre is approximately 09h 42m.8, -72d 12m ((J2000).
This part of the sky is best seen in the early evening between April and June
Carina the Keel, is a remnant of Argo Navis, a giant mythical sailing vessel afloat on the southern Milky Way, described elsewhere. The constellation is a delight for southern hemisphere observers, with many star clusters and nebulae visible in binoculars or modest telescopes. Some of these are quite spectacular in a large telescope (see below). The second brightest star in the sky, Canopus (α Car) is here as is Eta Carinae, one of the most massive and unstable stars in the Galaxy. Eta is hidden in the most conspicuous nebula in Carina, NGC 3372, the Great Carina nebula.
This photograph also shows the location of the south celestial pole and the Large Magellanic Cloud as well as several complete or almost complete constellations, including Apus, Chameleon, Crux, Dorado, Musca, Octans, Volans, and some of these have their own pages. The list of adjoining constellations (below) gives several more.
The main named stars in Carina are: (Greek alphabet) Avior (ε Car), Canopus (α Car), Miaplacidus (β Car), Tureis (Aspidiske, ι Car),
){kind=link}
Constellations adjoining Carina: Centaurus, Chameleon, Musca Pictor, Puppis, Vela, Volans,
Related images in Carina (other sources -- see under 'Related Images' on the pages listed below)
AAT 9. NGC 3372, the Great Carina nebula
AAT 10. NGC 3293, open cluster of stars
AAT 24. IC 2220, the Toby Jug nebula
AAT 32. The Keyhole nebula and Eta Carinae
AAT 38. NGC 3576 and NGC 3603 in Carina
UKS 6. The great nebula in Carina
UKS 41. The great nebula in Carina, narrow emission bands