Lepus constellation lies in the northern sky, just under the feet of Orion. The constellation’s name means “the hare” in Latin.
Lepus is not associated with any particular myth, but is sometimes depicted as a hare being chased by the mythical hunter Orion or by his hunting dogs, represented by the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. Lepus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
The constellation is home to the famous variable star R Leporis, better known as Hind’s Crimson Star, and it contains several notable deep sky objects: Messier 79 (NGC 1904), the irregular galaxy NGC 1821, and the Spirograph Nebula (IC 418).
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Lepus is the 51st constellation in size, occupying an area of 290 square degrees. It is located in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +63° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Caelum, Canis Major, Columba, Eridanus, Monoceros and Orion.
Lepus belongs to the Orion family of constellations, along with Canis Major, Canis Minor, Monoceros and Orion.
Lepus contains a Messier object – Messier 79 (M79, NGC 1904) – and has one star with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Arneb, Alpha Leporis, with an apparent magnitude of 2.58. There are no meteor showers associated with Lepus.
MYTH
Lepus is usually depicted as a hare being hunted by Orion or by his hunting dogs. The constellation is located under Orion’s feet. It is not associated with any particular myth. Sometimes it is also represented as a rabbit, also chased by Orion and his dogs.
Alpha Leporis, the brightest star in the constellation, has the name Arneb, which means “the hare” in Arabic. The hare’s ears are delineated by the stars Kappa, Iota, Lambda and Nu Leporis.
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