Part of the constellation Puppis (Poop, or Stern). Puppis was once part of the much larger Argo constellation, but this was thought too unwieldy and so was divided into three smaller constellations. The brightest star (top left corner) is pi-Puppis, with sigma-Puppis just above and to the right, and zeta-Puppis further to the right. Just to the right of centre is the bright star Alphard (alpha-Hydra), with zeta-Hydra below it, just above the horizon. Puppis is normally visible in the southern hemisphere near Canis Major and lies partly in the Milky Way. The images of the major stars in this image have been enhanced by a photographic technique.