Lupus Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

In Arabic astronomy, Lupus and Centaurus were collectively referred to as "al-Shamareekh," meaning the dense branches of the date palm fruit.

Because the constellation Lupus is very faint to the eye, no culture considers it an independent constellation and therefore does not have many associated myths.

In ancient Greek culture, there is a story with which this constellation is associated; it is the myth of the king of Arcadia Lycaon. The king was transformed into a wolf as punishment for killing almost all his children in the story.

It is also often associated with the sun god Helios and another Mythical being named Bison-man, supposedly related to the Greek constellation Centaurus.

The International Astronomical Union named the constellation Lupus as one of the 88 officially recognized constellations worldwide during the twentieth century.

In this way, it remains with its limits intact since then, occupying an area of 334 square degrees and staying with the 46th place in size among the 88 constellations of the night sky.

The constellation Lupus is also a region teeming with deep space bodies of paramount importance to modern science and astronomy in scientific research.

Lupus resides in the third quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ3) at latitudes between 35° N and 90° S, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries. The southern hemisphere of the earth and some countries of the northern hemisphere.

Lupus is visible in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica.

Lupus is not visible in areas above 35° N latitude, such as The northern USA, Europe, Canada, and Russia.

Lupus is a constellation that can be seen most of the year in the southern hemisphere; however, June is the best month to visualize it.

The constellation Lupus is visible only during the summer in the northern hemisphere.

Lupus is near the celestial equator, so you will have to direct your gaze to the south in the northern hemisphere. You can contact the constellation Centaurus to find Lupus since both constellations are very close.

One way to locate the Lupus constellation is by finding its brightest star Alpha Lupi, which is at the end of the constellation closest to Centaurus.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Lupus is by locating Alpha Centauri, the fourth brightest star of all. Then you draw an imaginary straight line from Alpha Centauri towards the constellation Libra; in the middle of the road between the two, you will find the constellation Lupus.

The constellations bordering Lupus are Norma, Scorpius, Circinus, Centaurus, Libra, and Hydra (corner).

In addition, Lupus belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, including Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.

The constellation Lupus officially contains 127 stars, of which 11 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Men, Kekouan, Gamma Lupi, Delta Lupi, Epsilon Lupi, Zeta Lupi, Eta Lupi, Iota Lupi, Phi-1 Lupi, Pi Lupi, and Chi Lupi.

It is the brightest star in the constellation Lupus, with an apparent magnitude of +2.30. It is 550 light-years from the solar system.

It is a hot blue giant star of spectral type B1.5III, whose surface temperature is 21 600 K. It shines with a luminosity equivalent to 20,000 suns, with most of its energy emitted in the form of ultraviolet light.

Lupus is also known as the home of several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae ( interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies.

In the case of Lupus, it is rich in galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, one of the constellations with the most incredible diversity of deep-sky bodies.

It is a very dense stellar cumulus with a magnitude of 7.6 that lies 40,000 light-years from Earth. It is the most notable deep-sky object in the constellation Lupus.

• NGC 5824: It is a very dense globular cluster with an apparent magnitude of +15.5.
• NGC 5927: It is a globular cluster about 24,000 light-years away, like the previous ones only visible with a telescope.
• NGC 5822 and NGC 5749: These are two open clusters south of the constellation Eridanus.
• Retina Nebula or IC 4406: It is a planetary nebula 2000 light-years from Earth; it is a bipolar nebula seen from the side from our position.
• NGC 5873: It is an interesting planetary nebula located about 13,500 light-years from the Solar System.
• NGC 5882: It is a planetary nebula towards the constellation's center. Its central star is not in the center of symmetry but shifted to its western side.
• SNR G330.0+15.0: It is a remnant of the supernova with an estimated age of around 30,000 years.
• NGC 5643: It is a barred spiral galaxy.

• Lupus is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. The constellation's name comes from Latin and means "The Wolf."
• The constellation Lupus is located primarily in the southern celestial hemisphere and is one of the faintest so that throughout history, no crucial stories have been developed about it.
• The best month to see the Lupus constellation is in June, between the latitudes of 35° N and 90° S.
• The easiest way to locate the constellation Lupus is to locate Alpha Centauri, the fourth brightest star. Then you draw an imaginary straight line from Alpha Centauri towards the constellation Libra; in the middle of the road between the two, you will find the constellation Lupus.
• The brightest star in the constellation Lupus is Alpha Lupi (α Lup /HD 129056) with an apparent magnitude of +2.30.
• The most notable deep sky body in the constellation Lupus is the stellar Cumulus NGC 5986.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/lupus-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-lupus.html
3. https://starlust.org/lupus-constellation/
4. https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellation.php?id=51