Carina is the constellation named after the keel of the ship Argo, the vessel of Jason and the Argonauts.
In ancient Greek astronomy, the entire ship was represented by the large constellation Argo Navis. Its name referred to the ship Argo from the quest for the Golden Fleece. Because Argo Navis covered a very large area and contained many stars, Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided it into three sections in the 18th century.
Carina represented the keel or hull, while Puppis represented the poop deck and Vela represented the sails. These sections later became independent constellations and were included among the modern 88 constellations formalized by the International Astronomical Union in 1930.
The three constellations still preserve traces of their shared origin: their Greek-letter star designations continue the sequence originally used for Argo Navis. Carina is also home to Canopus, its brightest star and the second-brightest star in the night sky. The other options are related to the former ship: Puppis and Vela are parts of Argo Navis, while Pyxis is a separate constellation.