Page "Argo Navis" Paragraph 2

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, or stern ), 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.