CARINA
Carina, the Keel of Argo (the Ship), runs through the middle of
the picture. The bright star just to the right of center is
Aspidiske, Iota Car. Miaplacidus lies down and to the left of
Aspidiske, while Avior lies down and to the right.
Northern Carina, with Canopus (Alpha Car), is off the picture to the right.
Vela is to the top,
Centaurus to the upper left, Volans down toward the
bottom.
To the right of center is the "False Cross," which mimics the
true Southern Cross.
The massive star Eta Car is embedded in the open cluster Tr 16, which in
turn is in the much larger Carina Nebula. The open cluster IC 2602
likewise contains Theta Car. IC 2391 and NGC 2561
are also brightopen clusters.
Image by Greg Dimijian.