ASPIDISKE (Iota Carinae). Most stars have no proper name; even some bright ones lack them. How they would envy this one, with not one, but THREE, from each of the classic stellar languages.
Sometimes observers associate the lower two stars, kappa Velorum and delta Velorum, with iota Carinae and epsilon Carinae, and believe they are looking at the Southern Cross.
[6926] xi Puppis, also known by its traditional name Asmidiske ("gunwale"), a misspelling of Aspidiske ("little shield"), the name of [1671] iota Carinae. Xi Puppis is a G-type supergiant about 8,300 times more luminous than the Sun.
Visible only from southern latitudes. Due to the 26,000 year precession of the equinoxes, Iota Carinae will be the South Star in about 8100.
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The False Cross is an asterism formed of the stars Delta Velorum and Kappa Velorum and Iota Carinae and Epsilon Carinae. It is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross, causing errors in astronavigation.
 See also: Magnitude, Delta, Distance, Carina, Vela
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