28Lepus, The Hare
NAME: Lepus (LEE-pus)
SEASON: Early winter
CULMINATION: midnight, 13 December
ABBREVIATION: Lep
GENITIVE: Leporis (leh-POR-us)
NEIGHBORS: Cae, CMa, Col, Eri, Mon, Ori
BINOCULAR OBJECTS: NGC 1904 (M 79)
URBAN OBJECTS: none
Lepus is a mid-size, south equatorial constellation that ranks 51st in size among the 88 constellations. Lepus covers 290 square degrees of the celestial sphere, or about 0.7%. Lepus is easy to overlook, lying as is does between the two bright constellations Orion and Canis Major, at the feet of Orion and to the west of Orion’s hunting dog Canis.
Lepus is an ancient constellation, but has little mythology associated with it. To the Greeks and Romans of antiquity, Lepus was the hare pursued by Orion the Hunter, ...
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