Editing Argo Navis (section)

===The constituent modern constellations===
In modern times, Argo Navis was considered unwieldy due to its enormous size (28% larger than [[Hydra (constellation)|Hydra]], the largest modern constellation).<ref name="Ridpath" /> In his 1763 star catalogue, [[Nicolas Louis de Lacaille]] explained that there were more than a hundred and sixty stars clearly visible to the naked eye in Navis. So he used the set of lowercase and uppercase Latin letters three times on portions of the constellation referred to as "''Argûs in carina''" ([[Carina (constellation)|Carina]], the [[keel]]), "''Argûs in puppi''" ([[Puppis (constellation)|Puppis]], the [[poop deck]] or [[stern]]), and "''Argûs in velis''" ([[Vela (constellation)|Vela]], the [[sail]]s).<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Nicolas Louis de Lacaille |first=Nicolas-Louis de |last=Lacaille |year=1763 |title=Coelum Australe Stelliferum}}</ref> Lacaille replaced Bayer's [[Bayer designation|designations]] with new ones that followed stellar magnitudes more closely, but used only a single Greek-letter sequence and described the constellation for those stars as "Argûs". Similarly, faint unlettered stars were listed only as in "Argûs".<ref name=lacaille/>

The final breakup and abolition of Argo Navis was proposed by [[Sir John Herschel]] in 1841 and again in 1844.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Herschel |first=John F. W. |year=1844 |title=Further remarks on the revision of the constellations |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=6 |issue=5 |page=60 |bibcode=1844MNRAS...6...60H |doi=10.1093/mnras/6.5.60|doi-access=free }}</ref> Despite this, the constellation remained in use in parallel with its constituent parts into the 20th&nbsp;century. In 1922, along with the other constellations, it received a three-letter abbreviation: ''Arg''.<ref name=russell>{{cite journal |bibcode=1922PA.....30..469R |title=The New International Symbols for the Constellations |journal=Popular Astronomy |volume=30 |pages=469 |author=Russell |first1=Henry Norris |year=1922}}</ref> The breakup and relegation to a [[former constellation]] occurred in 1930 when the IAU defined the [[88 modern constellations|88&nbsp;modern]] constellations, formally instituting ''Carina'', ''Puppis'', and ''Vela'', and declaring ''Argo'' obsolete.<ref name=iau>{{cite book |last=Delporte |first=E. |year=1930 |title=Delimitation scientifique des constellations (tables et cartes) |bibcode=1930dsct.book.....D |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref> Lacaille's designations were kept in the offspring, so ''Carina'' has [[Canopus|α]], [[Beta Carinae|β]], and [[Epsilon Carinae|ε]]; ''Vela'' has [[Gamma Velorum|γ]] and [[Delta Velorum|δ]]; ''Puppis'' has [[Zeta Puppis|ζ]]; and so on.<ref name="Wagman">{{cite book |last=Wagman |first=M. |year=2003 |title=Lost Stars: Lost, missing, and troublesome stars from the catalogues of Johannes Bayer, Nicholas-Louis de Lacaille, John Flamsteed, and sundry others |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYLvAAAAMAAJ |publisher=McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-939923-78-6}}</ref>{{rp|82}} As a result of this breakup, Argo Navis is the only one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations that is no longer officially recognized as a single constellation.<ref name="ley196312">{{cite magazine |last=Ley |first=Willy |date=December 1963 |title=The Names of the Constellations |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v22n02_1963-12#page/n46/mode/1up |department=For Your Information |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction |pages=90–99}}</ref>

In addition, the constellation ''[[Pyxis]]'' (the [[mariner's compass]]) occupies an area near what in antiquity was considered part of Argo's mast. Some recent authors state that the compass was part of the ship,<ref>{{cite book |author=Scalzi, John |title=Rough Guide to the Universe |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetouniv0000scal |url-access=registration |date=1 May 2008 |publisher=[[Rough Guides Limited]] |isbn=978-1-84353-800-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Kelley, David H. |author2=Milone, Eugene F. |title=Exploring Ancient Skies: A survey of ancient and cultural astronomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILBuYcGASxcC |date=16 February 2011 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=978-1-4419-7624-6}}</ref> but magnetic compasses were unknown in ancient Greek times.<ref name="Ridpath" /> Lacaille considered it a separate constellation representing a modern scientific instrument (like ''[[Microscopium]]'' and ''[[Telescopium]]''), that he created for maps of the stars of the southern hemisphere. Pyxis was listed among his 14&nbsp;new constellations.{{efn|Lacaille assigned Bayer designations to ''Pyxis'' separate from those of ''Argo'', and his illustration shows an isolated instrument not related to the figure of the ship.<ref name=lacaille>{{cite book |last=Lacaille |first=N.L. de|year=1763 |title=Coelum australe stelliferum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIo_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7 |publisher=H.L. Guerin & L.F. Delatour |pages=7ff}}</ref>}}<ref name=lacaille/><ref name="Wagman" />{{rp|262}} In 1844, John Herschel suggested formalizing the mast as a new constellation, [[Malus (constellation)|''Malus'']], to replace Lacaille's ''Pyxis'', but the idea did not catch on.<ref name="Ridpath">{{cite web |url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/argo.html |title=Argo Navis |author=Ridpath, Ian |author-link=Ian Ridpath |website=Star Tales |access-date=14 Mar 2019}}</ref> Similarly, an effort by [[Edmond Halley]] to detach the [[IC 2602|"cloud of mist"]] at the prow of Argo Navis to form a new constellation named ''[[Robur Carolinum]]'' (Charles' Oak) in honor of [[Charles II of England|King Charles&nbsp;II]], his patron, was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barentine |first=John C. |title=The Lost Constellations: A history of obsolete, extinct, or forgotten star lore |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-22795-5 |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_7NCgAAQBAJ |via=Google Books |ref=Barentine}}</ref>