Lupus Constellation
"The Wolf"
LOCATION of Lupus
An animated image of Lupus
What time of year can you SEE Lupus best?
How can you RECOGNIZE Lupus?
Some illustrations of Lupus are quite attractive, such as the one that depicts Centaurus, standing over the Southern Cross, engaging Lupus the Wolf.
How to FIND Lupus in the sky
Interesting FACTS about Lupus
Lupus is the 46th constellation in size, occupying an area of 334 square degrees.
The brightest star in the constellation is Men, Alpha Lupi, with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.30.
There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
A map of Lupus with the main stars labelled
MYTH of Lupus
The ancient Greeks called this constellation Therion (Θηρίον), representing an unspecified wild animal, while the Romans called it Bestia, the Beast. It was visualized as impaled on a long pole called a thyrsus, held by the adjoining constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur. Consequently, the constellations of the Centaur and the animal were often regarded as a combined figure.
The Babylonians knew this constellation as UR.IDIM, meaning ‘wild dog’ or ‘wolf’. Eratosthenes said that the Centaur was holding the animal towards the altar (the constellation Ara) as though about to sacrifice it. Hyginus referred to the animal as simply ‘a victim’, while Germanicus Caesar said that the Centaur was either carrying game from the woods, or was bringing gifts to the altar. The identification of this constellation with a wolf seems to have started in Renaissance times.