The constellation of Vela has an interesting and nautical-related history, as the Hubble scientists describe in a NASA statement: “Vela was originally part of a far larger constellation, known as Argo Navis after the fabled ship Argo from Greek mythology, but this unwieldy constellation proved to be impractically large.

Argo Navis was split into three separate parts called Carina, Puppis, and Vela – each named after part of the Argo.

As befits a galaxy in a nautically inspired constellation, the outer edges of NGC 3318 almost resemble a ship’s sails billowing in a gentle breeze.”.