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K Puppis

star in the constellation Puppis

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ66477145
Source-derived summary

k Puppis (k Pup, k Puppis) is a Bayer designation given to an optical double star in the constellation Puppis, the two components being k1 Puppis and k2 Puppis.

Bayer designation

Note that the Bayer designation for this star is "k" not "kappa" (κ). In Bayer's original Uranometria, k Puppis was listed as ρ (rho) Navis. When Lacaille broke apart the large constellation Argo Navis into Carina, Puppis, and Vela, he re-designated the stars with Greek letters in a single sequence across all three constellations. Additionally, Lacaille used Latin letters for many additional stars. κ (kappa) is in the constellation of Vela and so there is no kappa in Puppis. The confusion also extends to the proper name Markab which properly applies to κ Velorum (and other stars) but which has also been used for k Puppis when it is called κ Puppis.

Description

Both k1 Puppis and k2 Puppis are bright blue B-type stars of nearly equal brightness, +4.50 and +4.62, respectively. To the naked eye, the pair has a combined magnitude of +3.80. On the sky, the two stars are separated by approximately 9.9 seconds of arc along PA 318°.

Editorial summary

“K Puppis” enters the record as star in the constellation Puppis. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Puppis, star and constellation can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 192-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Puppis, star and constellation.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“K Puppis” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Puppis, star and constellation provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q66477145. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “K Puppis”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow K Puppis primary sources, K Puppis archive and Puppis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “K Puppis”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from K Puppis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.