Constellation, Wolf
Lupus
A wolf held on a pole by the centaur next door. The Greeks saw only an unnamed wild animal here, and the wolf idea took hold in Renaissance times.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Lupus rises at 12:10 PM, is highest at 2:46 PM (7° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 5:22 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Lupus. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The Greeks called this figure Therion, a wild animal of no particular kind, and the Romans called it Bestia, the beast. It was pictured speared on a long pole held by Centaurus. Eratosthenes said the centaur was holding it out towards Ara, the altar, as if to sacrifice it. Others thought he was carrying game home from the woods. Ptolemy listed the animal as a constellation of its own, but it was often treated as part of the centaur.
Calling it a wolf became common in the Renaissance. That echoes its Babylonian name, UR.IDIM, meaning ‘wild dog’ or ‘wolf’. Because the figure was borrowed from Babylon, the Greeks seem to have told no myth about it. In 2024 the IAU named its brightest star Uridim in honour of that origin. Arab astronomers saw the crowded stars of Lupus and Centaurus as stalks of dates on a palm tree.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Lupus
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uridim | α Lup | 2.30 | 465 light-years |
| β Lup | β Lup | 2.68 | 383 light-years |
| γ Lup | γ Lup | 2.80 | 421 light-years |
| δ Lup | δ Lup | 3.22 | 884 light-years |
| ε Lup | ε Lup | 3.37 | 512 light-years |
| ζ Lup | ζ Lup | 3.41 | 117 light-years |
| η Lup | η Lup | 3.42 | 442 light-years |
| ι Lup | ι Lup | 3.55 | 338 light-years |
| φ1 Lup | φ1 Lup | 3.57 | 275 light-years |
| κ1 Lup | κ1 Lup | 3.88 | 180 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 336 square degrees (46 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Lup |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, as Therion, the wild animal |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 34 |
| Centre (J2000) | 15.3 h, -43° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC5822 | Open cluster | 6.5 |
| NGC5986 | Globular cluster | 6.9 |
| NGC5749 | Open cluster | 8.8 |
| NGC5927 | Globular cluster | 8.9 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.