ANDROMEDA
AQUARIUS
AQUILA
ARIES
AURIGA
BOOTES
CAMELOPARDALIS
CANCER
CANES VENATICI
CANIS MAJOR
CANIS MINOR
CAPRICORNUS
CASSIOPEIA
CENTAURUS
CEPHEUS
CETUS
COMA BERENICES
CORONA BOREALIS
CORVUS
CRATER
CRUX
CYGNUS
DELPHINUS
DRACO
EQUULEUS
ERIDANUS
GEMINI
HERCULES
HYDRA
LACERTA
LEO
LEO MINOR
LEPUS
LIBRA
LYNX
LYRA
MONOCEROS
OPHIUCHUS
ORION
PEGASUS
PERSEUS
PISCES
SAGITTA
SAGITTARIUS
SCORPIUS
SCUTUM
SERPENS
SEXTANS
TAURUS
URSA MAJOR
URSA MINOR
VIRGO
VULPECULA
The figure of a lion was put into the heavens to commemorate the first of the great labours of Hercules: the killing of the monstrous, man-eating lion of Nemaea. According to legend, Hercules broke all his weapons trying to kill the lion, and finally had to resort to strangling the beast with his bare hands. Such a feat certainly earned recognition, and it is said that Hercules proudly wore the skin of the lion for the rest of his days. Leo is easily identified by the familiar asterism known as the Sickle of Leo, that looks like a backwards question mark, and depicts the head and mane of the lion. The prone body of the lion extends back, sphinx-like, with a bright triangle of stars depicting the rear of the lion.
Just as the lion is known as king of the beasts, the constellation Leo has been associated with kings and royalty throughout antiquity.
The Stars Of Leo
Regulus
The brightest star in the constellation, Alpha Leonis, was named Regulus (Latin for little king), by the great Polish astronomer Copernicus. The star is also known as Cor Leonis - the heart of the lion. The ancients regarded it as one of the four "Royal Stars" of Heaven (the other three being Aldebaran, Fomalhaut, and Antares). It is 85 light years away, and five times the diameter of our Sun.
Denebola
Denebola means tail of the lion. It is an A3 main sequence star, 43 light years away, and about 20 times brighter than our Sun.
Al Geiba
Al Geiba means the lion's mane. It is the brightest star in the curve of the sickle, and upon close examination can be seen as a binary, or double star system. It is 90 light years away, and the radiant from which the famous Leonid Meteors appear to originate.
Zozma
Zozma means the girdle. It is 80 light years away, and about 50 times brighter than our Sun.
Eta Leonis
Eta Leonis is a white supergiant star, with a radius 44 times that of our Sun. It is 16,000 times brighter than our Sun, and the only reason it doesn't outshine everything else in the sky is because it is over 2,000 light years away. If it was as close as Sirius (the brightest star in the sky, only 9 light years away), Eta Leonis would be 50 times brighter than the brilliant planet Venus, and would be visible during the day.
Coxa
Coxa means hip. It is 90 light years away, and about 30 times brighter than our Sun.
(Please note: The following two photos are best viewed in a dark room.)
Below is a photo of Leo rising in the east, holding the planet Saturn in its mouth - Feb. 13, 2007.
Below is an enlarged portion of the photo, showing the "Sickle" of Leo.
In the twenty second time exposure, Earth moved just enough to slightly blur the stars,
but you can still make out the shape of Saturn and its rings.
The Galaxies of Leo
Like its next door neighbour, Virgo, Leo is full of galaxies, several of which are bright enough to be seen in binoculars, or small telescopes.
NGC 2903
Up by the head of the lion is the bright spiral galaxy NGC 2903, with a magnitude of 9.7.
M95
M95 (NGC 3351) is part of a cluster of bright galaxies located in the centre of the constellation.
It is a barred spiral, about 29 million light years away, with a magnitude of 11.
M96
Right beside M95 is the slightly brighter spiral galaxy M96 (NGC 3368), with a magnitude of 10.2.
M105
M105 (NGC 3379) is part of a group of three close galaxies that can all be seen in the same field of view of a small telescope.
Located on the right side of the photo below, M105 is a bright elliptical galaxy, with a magnitude of 10.6, but not showing much detail.
Slightly dimmer (magnitude 11), and also not showing much detail is another elliptical galaxy NGC 3384 on the upper left.
On the lower left is the much dimmer (magnitude 12.2) but much more detailed spiral galaxy NGC 3389.
M65 and M66
By the tail of the lion is another group of three galaxies that can all be viewed together.
On the lower left is M66 (NGC 3627), the brightest of the group with a magnitude of 9.7.
On the lower right is M65 (NGC 3623),slightly dimmer with a magnitude of 10.3.
At the top of the photo is NGC 3628, the largest but faintest of the group.
NGC 3521
Down below the lion sits the finely detailed spiral galaxy NGC 3251, with a magnitude of 10.2.
