Argo

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Argo Navis (short: Argo) is one of the constellations of the Almagest star catalogue (137 CE) that became standardized by common usage of several cultures in the subsequent centuries. In the Early Modern Era, the constellation was changed and finally included in the set of constellations, globally defined by the IAU over the course of the 1920s.

Babylonian Constellation

In the place of the Greek Argo, the Babylonian uranology recognizes the constellations of the Harrow and the Asterism of Eridu.

The Babylonian uranology does contain a constellation of a ship or rather a boat but this is at the opposite site of the sky, frequently identified with the stars in the modern constellations Sgr, CrA and Cap (or only CrA).

Transformation of Argo

Ptolemy's Almagest

Argo, The Ship is one of the southern constellations.

Caption text
No. English translation (Toomer 1984) ident.
1 The more advanccd of the 2 stars in the stern-ornament 11 (e) Pup
2 The rearmost of them rho Pup
3 The northernmost of the 2 stars close tagether over the

little shield in the poop

xi Pup
4 The southernmost of them o Pup
5 The star in advance of these m Pup

HR 2944

6 The bright star in the middle of the little shield HR 2948 +29
7 The most advanced of the 3 stars under the little shield p Pup

HR 2922

8 The rearmost of them 3 Pup
9 The middle one of the three 1 Pup
10 The star on the goose[-neck HR 3113
11 The northernmost of the 2 stars in the stern-keel ?
12 The southernmost of them pi Pup
13 Stars in the poop-deck:

1. the northernmost

f Pup

HR 2937

14 2. the most advanced of the next 3 HR 2961 + 64
15 3. the middle one c Pup

HR 3017

16 4. the reannost of the three b Pup

HR 3084

17 5. the bright star on the deck to the rear of these zet Pup
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36 The bright star to the south of this, an the lower [part of the] keel chi Car
37 The most advanced of the 3 stars to the rear of this omi Vel
The middle one del Vel
The rearmost of the three HR 3498
The more advanced of the 2 stars to the rear of these, near the cut-off kap Vel
The rearmost of them N Vel

HR 3803

The more advanced of the 2 stars in the northem, advance steering-oar eta Col
The rearmost of them nu Pup
The more advanced of the 2 stars in the other steering-oar, called

Canopus

alf Car
The other, rearmost star tau Pup

Bayer's Uranometria

de Houtman's Star Catalogue

References