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[[File:375px-Lepus IAU.svg.png|thumb|Lepus]] | |||
Lepus is a constellation lying just south of the celestial equator, immediately south of Orion. Its name is Latin for hare. Although the hare does not represent any particular figure in Greek mythology, Lepus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is located below the constellation Orion (the hunter), and is sometimes represented as a hare being chased by Orion or, alternatively, by Orion's hunting dogs.This constellation should not be confused with Lupus, the wolf. | Lepus is a constellation lying just south of the celestial equator, immediately south of Orion. Its name is Latin for hare. Although the hare does not represent any particular figure in Greek mythology, Lepus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is located below the constellation Orion (the hunter), and is sometimes represented as a hare being chased by Orion or, alternatively, by Orion's hunting dogs.This constellation should not be confused with Lupus, the wolf. | ||
There are a fair number of bright stars, both single and double, in Lepus. Alpha Leporis, the brightest star of Lepus, is a white supergiant of magnitude 2.6, 1300 light-years from Earth. Its traditional name, Arneb, means "hare".There is one Messier Object in Lepus, [[Messier 79]]. It is a globular cluster of magnitude 8.0, 42,000 light-years from Earth.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepus_%28constellation%29 Lepus]</ref> | There are a fair number of bright stars, both single and double, in Lepus. Alpha Leporis, the brightest star of Lepus, is a white supergiant of magnitude 2.6, 1300 light-years from Earth. Its traditional name, Arneb, means "hare".There is one Messier Object in Lepus, [[Messier 79]]. It is a globular cluster of magnitude 8.0, 42,000 light-years from Earth.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepus_%28constellation%29 Lepus]</ref> | ||
==History and mythology== | ==History and mythology== | ||