CLASSICAL STAR ATLASES

BAYER'S ARGO

Argo, the Ship, from Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. Now broken into three constellations, Puppis ( the Stern), Carina (the Keel), and Vela (the Sails), the great ship Argo carried Jason on his search for the golden fleece. Canopus shines near the bottom. Many of the stars are misplaced, as Bayer recorded the unreliable evidence of others that had viewed this deep southern constellation.

Courtesy of the Rare Book Room and Special Collections Library of the University of Illinois