Markeb

Its story

Markeb is a blue class-B star in the constellation Vela, lying 572 light-years away. Its cool hue and steady glow make it recognisable as one of the cardinal points of the old Argo, the celestial ship of which Vela was the wind-filled sail. The name derives from the Arabic «al-markab», the vessel or vehicle, the same root that produced Markab in Pegasus. Tonight's photons set out while the bonfires of the Renaissance were still burning.