Argo Navis 11, Vela

Vela
The Sail

The Brighter Stars of Vela
Suhail
The Story
The Good Ship ArgoVela is the Sail of the Ship Argo, which was once represented in the sky by the very large constellation Argo Navis. On his sky chart published in 1763 Abbe Nicholas Louis de Lacaille divided Argo Navis into the three separate constellations of Carina, Puppis, and Vela representing the Keel, Stern, and Sail of the Argo.
Jason and His CrewJason and the fifty greatest heroes of Greece sailed the Argo off into the Black Sea of Asia to recover the fabulous Golden Fleece. The twins Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux) were part of the crew, along with Argus, the builder of the ship. Hercules was also part of the crew, and Orpheus, the great musician as well.
Building the ShipThe ship was built with timbers from Mount Pelion to the design of the goddess Athene, known for her wisdom. The bow of the ship was built around a wondrous oak beam from the Temple of Zeus at Dodona, where there was a well known oracle who spoke the words of Zeus. Being part of the oracle, the oak could speak itself. And while the voyage was being prepared the oak beam in the prow of the Argo could be heard continually calling for action.
A View From the SternOnly the rear of the Argo is shown in the sky. Perhaps we are seeing the ship sail off into the mist or disappear between the Clashing Rocks at the entrance to the Black Sea.

Suhail
Lambda Velorum

Distance (Light Years)
570 ± 50
Visual Magnitude
2.23
Color (B-V)
1.66
Names For This Star"Suhail" in Arabic means "handsome, brilliant, glorious, and beautiful." This was a term that was commonly applied to a bright star.
The name of this star is probably a shortening of Al Suhail al Wazn, that is, "The Bright Star of the Weight." Another name for this star is simply Alsuhail.
Description of the StarSuhail is an orange K4.5Ib-II bright giant to supergiant star having about 3000 times the luminosity of the sun.