Lepus: It’s Orion’s hare in the heavens

It’s absolutely wonderful to have spring coming on. I have to say, though, that one of the things I’ll miss about winter is gazing skyward in the evening and seeing the majestic constellation Orion and the surrounding constellations such as Taurus, Gemini and several others.

You can still see Orion and at least some of his gang hanging in there in the southwestern sky after evening twilight, but they are not long for our celestial dome. As the Earth continues its annual journey around the sun, it won’t be long before Orion and company will already be below the western horizon at the onset of evening, not to be seen again in the evening until sometime next autumn.

Before we say goodbye to Orion and his posse for the summer, see if you can spot the minor constellation Lepus (pronounced Leap-us) the Rabbit. Look for a group of fainter stars directly below Orion, under his feet. In the countryside, of course, you’ll see it more easily without the nasty urban lighting.

Maybe Lepus and Orion have a Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd relationship, a pesky rabbit constantly eluding the hunter and his dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Mythologies have little to say about it, usually that Lepus was placed in the heavens for Orion to hunt, after he himself was done in by a scorpion and put in the stars by the gods.

One story associated with Orion was that he had helped the people of Leros get rid of rabbits that had overrun their island, and Lepus was put at Orion’s feet to honor that deed.

Special Note: Don’t miss the wonderful conjunction Thursday evening as the crescent moon, Venus and the bright Pleiades star cluster will be in a close conjunction. Just look in the western sky at the end of evening twilight.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and author of the new book “Washington Starwatch,” available at bookstores and on his Web site, www.lynchandthestars.com.