- The ancient Greeks called this constellation Θηρίον (Therion), representing an unspecified wild animal, while the Romans called it Bestia, the beast. It was visualized as impaled on a long pole called a thyrsus, held by the adjoining constellation of Centaurus, the centaur. Consequently, the centaur and the animal were often regarded as a combined figure, although Ptolemy listed the animal as a separate constellation in the Almagest.
- Star Tales - Lepus (ianridpath.com)
This constellation was known to the Greeks as Λαγωός (Lagoös), the Greek word for hare; Lepus is the more recent Latin name. Eratosthenes tells us that Hermes placed the hare in the sky because of its swiftness. Both Eratosthenes and Hyginus referred to the remarkable fertility of hares, as attested to by Aristotle in his Historia Animalium (History of Animals): ‘Hares breed and bear at all seasons, superfoetate (i.e. conceive again) during pregnancy and bear young every month.’
- Delta Scuti (Wikipedia)
Delta Scuti, Latinized from δ Scuti, is a variable star in the southern constellation Scutum. With an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.72, it is the fifth-brightest star in this small and otherwise undistinguished constellation. Analysis of the parallax measurements place this star at a distance of about 199 light-years (61 parsecs) from Earth. It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −45 km/s.