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Drawing of Nebula in Argo
Drawing of the Argo nebula, by John Herschel the Younger (1837-1921) at Bangalore Observatory.
The southern constellation Argo (full name Argo Navis - the ship of Jason and the Argonauts) was broken up in the 18th century by the French astronomer, LaCaille into 4 much smaller constellations Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern), Pyxis (the compass) and Vela (the sails). While nebulae exist in a number of these constellations it seems likely that the nebula this is a depiction of is Eta-Carinae which at its brightest in 1843 was brighter than the brightest star in Carina.
The drawing was made at Bangalore using a 5 inch refractor telescope. It is a copy of a drawing to be found in John Herschel's Bangalore Observatory notebook.
The southern constellation Argo (full name Argo Navis - the ship of Jason and the Argonauts) was broken up in the 18th century by the French astronomer, LaCaille into 4 much smaller constellations Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern), Pyxis (the compass) and Vela (the sails). While nebulae exist in a number of these constellations it seems likely that the nebula this is a depiction of is Eta-Carinae which at its brightest in 1843 was brighter than the brightest star in Carina.
The drawing was made at Bangalore using a 5 inch refractor telescope. It is a copy of a drawing to be found in John Herschel's Bangalore Observatory notebook.
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Object Details
| ID: | AST1104 |
|---|---|
| Collection: | Astronomical and navigational instruments |
| Type: | drawing, technical |
| Display location: | Not on display |
| Creator: | Herschel, John Frederick William; Herschel, John |
| Date made: | 1869 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Herschel Collection |
| Measurements: | 215 mm x 260 mm |