Lupus
What is Lupus?
Constellations· Early-summer evenings · between Scorpius and Centaurus. An ancient constellation drawn as a beast speared by the neighbouring Centaur. It holds a cluster of hot blue stars between Scorpius and Centaurus, and in 1006 the brightest supernova in recorded history blazed here.
📍 Visible from where you are right now — computed in your browser
bearing · altitude · rise time · best time tonight
Where Lupus is in your sky right now: https://nowsky.org/solar/sky?sel=con:Lupus — location and time set automatically, no login.
Stars of the figure
| Star | Magnitude |
|---|---|
| Men | 2.3 |
| Kekouan | 2.7 |
| Gamma Lupi | 2.8 |
The 3 brightest of the 10 stars used in the figure (9 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.
Deep-sky objects near this constellation
Constellation basics
| Season | Jun–Jul evenings, low south; northern half from Korea |
|---|---|
| Brightest star | α Lupi, mag 2.3 |
| How to find | lower right of Antares, left of Centaurus |
| Area rank | 46th of 88 |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Frequently asked
- When can I see Lupus?
- Jun–Jul evenings, low south; northern half from Korea.
- How do I find Lupus?
- lower right of Antares, left of Centaurus.
- What is the brightest star in Lupus?
- Men, magnitude 2.3.
- Where is Lupus in the sky right now?
- Open the sky view for your location and time and it shows the position in the sky right now.
The first exoplanet candidate caught in a picture — GQ Lupi
In 2005 the European Southern Observatory's VLT photographed a small point beside the young star GQ Lupi in Lupus. About 100 AU from the star and confirmed to be orbiting it, the object became one of the first planet candidates ever imaged directly outside the solar system. Its mass is estimated at anywhere from a few to several tens of Jupiters, so whether it is a planet or a brown dwarf still sits on the border.
GQ Lupi is a T Tauri star about a million years old, newly born from the Lupus molecular cloud. Its companion could be photographed because, so young and hot, it still glows with its own light; an old planet would have been lost in the star's glare. This constellation between Scorpius and Centaurus is a star-forming region and holds several such young systems.
The constellation in depth
Lupus is an old constellation, already among Ptolemy's 48. The Greeks gave it no name, calling it simply the Beast — an animal speared by the neighbouring Centaur as an offering for the Altar — and in Roman times it settled into a wolf. It is one of the rare constellations whose picture came before its story.
Most of its bright stars belong to the Scorpius–Centaurus association, a loose group of young blue stars. In May 1006 the supernova SN 1006 exploded here, outshining Venus and reportedly visible in daylight; Chinese, Egyptian and European records describe it. Today only a faint remnant remains, seen in radio and X-rays. Most of them lie about 400 to 500 light-years away.
From Korea the northern half clears the southern horizon on June and July evenings. Drop down and to the right from Antares to reach Lupus, with Centaurus beyond. In the Sky view try Seoul on a June night looking south, or choose a southern city to see the full outline. From the southern hemisphere it passes close to the zenith on early winter evenings.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.