Argo Navis (or simply Argo) was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into three separate constellations. It represented the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. The abbreviation was "Arg" and the genitive was "Argūs Navis".
Argo Navis is the only one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy that is no longer officially recognised as a constellation. It was unwieldy due to its enormous size - were it still considered a single constellation, it would be the largest of all. In 1752, the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille subdivided it into Carina (the keel, or the hull, of the ship), Puppis (the poop deck), and Vela (the sails). When Argo Navis was split, its Bayer designations were also split. Carina has the α, β and ε, Vela has γ and δ, Puppis has ζ, and so on.
The constellation Pyxis (the mariner's compass) occupies an area which in antiquity was considered part of Argo's mast. However, Pyxis is not now considered part of Argo Navis, and its Bayer designations are separate from those of Carina, Puppis and Vela.
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