Constellation Vela (Sails)
Properties
Vela, the sail of the great ship, lies in the ribbon of the Milky Way. The stars kappa and delta Velorum together with iota and epsilon Carinae form a large cross that is often confused with the southern cross further west by the ignorant and therefore False cross means. The area of the constellation is 500 square degrees and the center culminates around midnight on 11 February. [9, 15]
| γ2 Vel | Suhail Al Muhlif, Al Suhail Al Muhlif, "Spectral Gem Of Southern Skies" |
| λ Vel | Alsuhail, Al Suhail Al Wazn, Suhail |
Catalogues
Mythology and History
The stars of the constellation Vela used to belong to the constellation Argo Navis and today they form part of what Lacaille has left from the original constellation. The other parts are Carina, Puppis and Pyxis. Argo Navis was the ship of the Thessalian hero Jason and his crew, the Argonauts from the Greek legend. It helped in the search for the golden fleece of the Aries and could speak and prophesy.
The brightest stars of the four sub-constellations of Argo Navis still have a continuous designation with Greek letters, as Johann Bayer had included the constellation in his «Uranometria» before Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. [7, 10]