Lupus

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The constellation Lupus, the wolf, is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. It is best seen in the northern hemisphere in June and is completely visible at latitudes between 35 degrees and -90 degrees. Lupus is a mid-sized constellation filling 334 square degrees of the sky. It ranks 46th in size among the 88 constellations of the night sky. It is bordered by the constellations Hydra, Scorpius, Norma, Circinus, Libra, and Centaurus. It is sometimes confused with the constellation Lepus, the rabbit.

Lupus is one of the 48 constellations first identified by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. Its name means “the wolf” in Latin. Even though it is one of the older constellations, it is not associated with any mythology. The stars that make up this constellation were originally part of the constellation Centaurus. They represented an animal that had been killed by the centaur. The stars of Lupus was separated from Centaurus by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the third century BC. No particular animal was associated with it at the time. The ancient Greeks knew it as Therium, a wild animal. The Romans called it Bestia, the beast. A later Latin translation of Ptolemy’s work finally identified it as a wolf.