A constellation known to the ancient Greeks, it represents a hare cunningly located at the feet of Orion. The Hare was placed in the sky for Orion to Hunt. This was due to the great devastation caused by hares in the island of Sicily.
To the early Arab astronomers Lepus was known as Al Kursiyy
al Jabbar or the Chair of the Giant.
Later the Arab astronomer Al Sufi sometimes called the
constellation Asl Nihal or the Thirst Slacking Camel because of its closeness
to the Milky Way.
Alpha or Arneb which means ‘Hare’ is a magnitude 2.6 star, it is a F class supergiant star lying at a distance of 2,200 light years. It will end its life as a supernova.
Beta or Nihal which means ‘Quenching their Thirst’ is a
magnitude 2.8 star lying at a distance of 160 light years. It is a G class
giant class star.
Epsilon has a brightness of magnitude 3.2 it’s an orange K class
giant star 213 light years away.
R sometimes called Hind's Crimson Star, it’s a well-known variable star. It is named after famous British astronomer J. R. Hind, who observed it in 1845. The colour of R is an intense smoky red and has been described by various observers as resembling a glowing coal, a ruby, or an illuminated drop of Blood. Its magnitude varies from +5.5 to +11.7 with a period of 418–441 days. R lies around 1,300 light years away.
Messier 79
A globular cluster discovered by Messier in 1780 and lying
at a distance of 42,000 light years. It
has a magnitude of 8.6.
www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment