Lepus (Pronounciation:Lee-puss, Abbrev:Lep, Latin:Leporis) is a constellation, one of 88 constellations that the night sky is divided into. The sky is not divided up equally between the constellations. Lepus takes up 290.291 sq. degrees of the night sky which equates to 0.7% of the night sky. Lepus is the 51st largest in terms of size in the night sky.
The constellation name means The Hare . The constellation is one of the original constellations that was devised by the Ancient Greco-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy who lived between 90 A.D. and 168 A.D.
There are 11 stars that make up the main constellation. The hipparcos satellite scanned and detailed 726 stars. There are 45 stars that can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation on a very clear night sky.
Lepus is not a member of the Zodiac group of twelve constellations that appear when the Sun sets. Lepus is a southern hemispheric constellation which means it can't be seen easily or at all from the northern hemisphere.
There are 10 Extrasolar Planets (Exoplanets) in this constellation that are detailed on this site. There is a dedicated page for exoplanets in Lepus. The current largest star so far identified in the constellation of Lepus is R Leporis.
There are 1 deep space objects that were identified by Charles Messier in this constellation. There are no non-Messier deep space objects in this constellation that are covered at present on this site.
The image at the top right of this page was generated using Night Vision, a free to use and download application by Brian Simspon.
You can't just go to one location and arrive at the constellation because the constellation is made up of stars at different locations and different distances. The nearest main star in the constellation is at a distance of 29.12 light years and the furthest main star is a distance of 2,218.80 light years. The average distance to the main stars is 435.70 light years.
The caveat of these stars are that they are catalogued on this site. If you know of a star that is nearer or further then do let me know in the comments and I'll add it to the site. The stars mentioned are from the Hipparcos catalogue or have been added because of their special status.
The nearest star to Earth is Gliese 229 which is roughly about 18.77 Light Years from the Earth. Gliese 229 is also the nearest star in the constellation of Lepus with at least one orbiting exoplanet.
The furthest star that is located in the constellation is HIP 28132 and it is 65232.67 light years away from the Sun. The furthest figure is derived from either the 1997 or 2007 Hipparcos star catalogue parallax figure and it has been known to produce distances that are wrong.
The brightest star in Lepus is Arneb and is located about 4.79 light years from the Sun. The star has a apparent magnitude of 2.58 but an absolute magnitude of -6.58 when the star is viewed from a distance of 10 Parsecs or 32.6 Light Years. The star is recognised as being the brightest in the constellation as it has the Bayer status of Alpha.
The dimmest star that can be seen in Lepus with the naked eye is HD 33093. The dim star has an apparent magnitude of 5.97. The dimmest star that a person is able to see with their naked eye is 6.0 magnitude based on the table in the reference. Ref: University of Michigan.
There is no real mythological story behind it. It probably played a minor part in the Orion story hence its location.
| Name | Lepus |
| Abbreviation | Lep |
| Is a Zodiac Sign | No |
| Brightest Star | Arneb |
| Area | 290.291 sq. deg. |
| Percentage of Night Sky | 0.7% |
| Size Position | 51st |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Site Exoplanet Count | 10 |
| Meteor Shower Count | 1 |
| Nearest Star | Gliese 229 |
| Nearest Star with Exoplanet(s) | Gliese 229 |
| Largest Star | R Leporis |
| Brightest Star | Arneb |
| Dimmest Star | HD 33093 |
| Furthest Star | HIP 28132 |
| Bright Star Count | 45 |
| Hipparcos Star Count | 726 |
| Main Star Count | 11 |
| Messier Deep Space Object Count | 1 |
| Bordering / Neighbouring / Surrounding Constellations | Orion |
| Eridanus | |
| Caelum | |
| Columba | |
| Canis Major | |
| Monoceros |
*Note: The number of Non-Messier Deep Space Object Count relates to how many are covered on this site not how many there are.
| Name | Type | Distance | Declination | Right Ascension |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IC 418 | Planetary Nebula | -12d 41` 50.265 | 05h 27m 28m 20 | |
| IC433 | Galaxy | -11 39 56.19 | 05 40 31m 350 | |
| Messier 79 (NGC1904) | Globular Cluster | 41000 | -24:33 | 05h 24m 5 |
| NGC 1993 | Lenticular Galaxy | -17 48 54.86 | 05 35 25m 576 | |
| Spirograph Nebula - IC 418 | Planetary Nebula | 3600 | -12:41:50.265 | 05h 27h 28m 2037 |
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