Southern Constellations

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To the right of Lepus, and beginning near the foot of Orion, lies the long, winding constellation of Eridanus, the river. In Greek mythology, Eridanus is the river in which young Phaethon crashed after his failed attempt to fly the Chariot of the Sun. No one knows exactly which river Eridanus represents; some claim it’s the Tigris or the Euphrates, others the Nile or the Po.

Even farther south, very close to the horizon for many in middle latitudes, lie several additional constellations. To see them you’ll need a very clear and dark sky, with no obstructions on the horizon.

Almost due south after dark lies the tiny star grouping of Caelum, the chisel or engraving tool. This is one of several constellations invented by Abbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who mapped the stars of the Southern Hemisphere from the Cape of Good Hope from 1751 to 1753.

To the east of the chisel, we find Columba, the dove. Columba was probably invented by the 16th century Dutch theologian, cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius to represent the dove sent out by Noah in search of dry land after the great flood depicted in the Bible.

Finally, partially hidden beneath the southern horizon from much of the Northern Hemisphere, lies the constellation of Puppis, the deck of a ship, along with Pyxis, the compass by which navigators would guide the ship.

Puppis was originally part of a larger constellation known as Argo Navis that represented the ship of “Jason and the Argonauts” but was eventually divided into three separate constellations that now include Vela (the hull), as well as Carina (the keel). The only part of Carina that lower northern latitude