A couple of bright cousins of Antares, the heart of the scorpion, skitter to its lower right on July evenings. They’re the brightest stars of Lupus, the wolf.

The stars of Lupus originally formed part of the adjoining constellation Centaurus. But they were split off to form a new constellation a couple of thousand years ago.

The wolf’s brightest stars are Alpha and Beta Lupi. Both stars belong to the Scorpius-Centaurus O-B association – a complex of stars and star-making ingredients that spans hundreds of light-years.

The first stars in the association were born about 25 million years ago. Beta Lupi probably was one of those stars. Winds from the earliest stars, along with shockwaves from exploding stars, probably triggered a major round of starbirth about five million years later. And two more big rounds followed, spaced about five million years apart. Alpha Lupi probably was born during one of those peaks, no more than 20 million years ago.

Alpha Lupi is about 10 times the mass of the Sun. So despite its young age, it’s nearing the end. It will explode as a supernova within the next few million years. Beta Lupi is a little less massive. So it might explode as well. But it’s possible that it faces a less dramatic fate, ending its life as a small, faint ember – a meek end for a mighty star.

Lupus is quite low in the south at nightfall. You need to be south of about Dallas or Phoenix to see its brightest stars.

More about the wolf tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield