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Lupus is a constellation located in the deep southern sky. Its name is Latin for wolf. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation Centaurus. | Lupus is a constellation located in the deep southern sky. Its name is Latin for wolf. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation Centaurus. | ||
Lupus is bordered by six different constellations, although one of them (Hydra) merely touches at the corner. The other five are Scorpius (the scorpion), Norma (the right angle), Circinus (the compass), Libra (the balance scale), and Centaurus (the centaur). The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is Lup. The official constellation boundaries are defined by an twelve-sided polygon. Covering a total of 334 square degrees, Lupus ranks 46th in area out of the 88 modern constellations. | |||
==History and mythology== | ==History and mythology== | ||