Lupus is often overlooked by observers because it is so close to the constellation of Scorpius and Centaurus. Although the term Lupus refers to a wolf, the Greeks and Romans regarded this constellation as an unspecified wild animal held by Centaurus as an offering to the gods. It appears to be during the renaissance period that the connection with the Wolf seems to have become the common term to use. Lupus lies in the Milky Way so it is very rich in stars.
To the Euphrateans it was Zibu the Beast while to the
Akkadians it was Urbat the Beast of Death.
To the Arab astronomers it was sometimes referred to as Al
Asadah or the Lioness.
Alpha is a magnitude 2.3, B class star with a temperature of around 21,000,C compared to that of 5,800,C of the Sun, it lies at a distance of 460 light years. The only names it has is Chinese and is Yang Mun the South Gate.
Beta is a class B star even hotter than alpha at
23,500, it has a magnitude of 2.7 and is
383 light years away. It will quickly use up its supply of hydrogen and become
a red giant before possibly becoming a supernova in the future.
Gamma is 420 light years away and shines with a magnitude of
2.8 it is a B class star.
Eta magnitude 3.4 is 440 light years away and is an A class
star.
Epsilon also magnitude 3.4 and is a B class star lying 510 light years away.
There are many clusters in Lupus but they require small
telescopes to see them, I will mention just NGC 5986 a globular cluster lying
at a distance of 34,000 light years and shining at a magnitude of 8.0 It was
discovered by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop at the Paramatta observatory
in Australia.
In the year 1006 a supernova appeared in Lupus, SN 1006,
it was probably the brightest observed
stellar event in recorded history, reaching an estimated −7.5 visual magnitude
and was roughly sixteen times the brightness of Venus. Appearing between April
30 and May 1. The Supernova was seen for about 3 months in the sky.
www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment