Lupus
For
the autoimmune
disorder see Lupus
Erythematosus.
Lupus is a southern
constellation.
It is one of the 88 modern constellations and was also one of the 48 in
Ptolemy's
Almagest. It is between
Centaurus
and
Scorpius.
Notable
features
Lupus has no extremely bright
stars
but around thirty stars of second and third
magnitude
and 70 of greater than sixth, including a number of
binary
or multiple stars. The stars which make up the constellation figure have no names,
the brightest is Alpha Lupi, a
blue
giant.
Notable deep sky objects
Towards
the north of the constellation are globular clusters NGC 5824 and NGC 5986 and
close by the dark
nebula B
228. Two open clusters are to the south of the constellation, NGC 5822 and NGC
5749. On the western border are two
spiral
galaxies and the Wolf-Rayet planetary nebula IC 4406, containing some of the
hottest stars in existence. Another planetary nebula, NGC 5882, is towards the
centre of the constellation.
History
and/or Mythology
The constellation has no clear mythology, but is sometimes
associated with the tale of King Lycaon. Although known from ancient times no
particular animal was associated with it until the Latin translation of Ptolemy's
work. It was not separated from Centaurus until
Hipparchus
of
Bithynia named it Therion
in the 200s BCE.
