Vela (constellation)

Vela (Latin for sails) is a southern constellation, one of the three parts into which Argo Navis was split.

It contains the stars Delta Velorum and Kappa Velorum which together with Iota Carinae and Epsilon Carinae form the asterism known as the "false cross", which is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross.

Also of interest within the constellation is the Vela Supernova Remnant. This is the nebula of a supernova explosion which is believed to have been visible from the Earth around 10000 years ago. The remant contains a pulsar which was the first pulsar to be identified optically apart from that in the Crab Nebula.

Mythology

Since Vela was originally part of the Argo Navis, it has no pre 17th century mythology associated with it independantly.

See Also