Gamma Leporis: A Rewarding Pair of Mustard and Orange

The double star Gamma Leporis makes its home in Lepus, a less-known constellation directly below Orion. The pair consists of a bright yellow star along with a dimmer orange one. Interestingly, Jim Kaler notes earlier astronomers described the pair as “light yellow and pale green.”¹

Splitting this double will not be difficult with binoculars or a telescope because they are separated by a good amount of length (96 arcseconds). The two lie 864 astronomical units apart and are fairly close to us at a distance of 29 light years.

My Observations

I believe this is my first time taking a walk through Lepus with the help of scope. The brighter primary star is a mustard color, while the secondary is an orange-red hue. This is an easy pair to split and a nice destination after wandering around Orion for a while.

Key Stats

Constellation	Lepus
Best Viewing	Winter
Visual Magnitude	+3.6 | +6.3
Absolute Visual Magnitude	+3.8
Distance from Earth	29 ly
Separation	95″ | 864 AU
Milky Way Location	Orion Spur
My Viewing Grade	A

Sources and Notes

Banner shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Photo by Aquil Virgos. Details here.

Sketch by Wayne McGraw

¹ Gamma Leporis. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2022, from http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/gammalep.html

AKA: SAO 170759, 13 Lep, HD 38393