Lupus constellation lies in the southern hemisphere, between Centaurus and Scorpius. Its name means “the wolf” in Latin.
Lupus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Even though it is an old constellation, Lupus is not associated with any myths.
The constellation is home to several interesting stars and deep sky objects. These include the historic supernova remnant SN 1006, the globular clusters NGC 5824 and NGC 5986, and the Retina Nebula (IC 4406).
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Lupus is the 46th constellation in size, occupying an area of 334 square degrees. It is located in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +35° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Centaurus, Circinus, Hydra, Libra, Norma and Scorpius.
Lupus belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, along with Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe and Vulpecula.
Lupus contains two stars with known planets and no Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Men, Alpha Lupi, with an apparent magnitude of 2.30. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
STORY
The stars that now form the constellation Lupus used to be part of Centaurus constellation. They represented a sacrificed animal impaled by the centaur. The centaur was holding it toward the constellation Ara, the altar.
The constellation was not associated with any animal in particular until the Renaissance times, when the Latin translation of Ptolemy’s work identified it with the wolf.
The Greeks knew the constellation as Therium, a wild animal, and the Romans called it Bestia, the beast. In Greek times, the constellation was probably taken to represent a creature based on the Babylonian figure of the Mad Dog. The creature was a hybrid, with a human head and torso and legs and tail of a lion. The creature was frequently associated with the sun god and Bison-man, which is another creature from myth, and it was called UR.IDIM, with UR referring to a large carnivore, which could have been a lion, wolf, or a dog.
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