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Winter: Orion   Canis Major   Canis Minor   Monoceros   Lepus   Eridanus   Taurus   Auriga   Camelopardalis   Lynx   Gemini   Cancer  
Spring: Hydra   Sextans   Crater   Corvus   Leo   Leo Minor   Ursa Major   Ursa Minor   Canes Venatici   Coma Berenices   Virgo   Bootes  
Summer: Draco   Corona Borealis   Hercules   Ophiuchus   Serpens   Libra   Scorpius   Sagittarius   Scutum   Aquila   Sagitta   Vulpecula   Lyra   Cygnus  
Autumn: Andromeda   Perseus   Pegasus   Cassiopeia   Cephus   Cetus   Lacerta   Delphinus   Equuleus   Capricornus   Aquarius   Pisces   Aries  
Southern Skies: Centaurus   Crux   Lupus   Corona Australis   Piscis Australis   Sculptor   Tucana   Fornax   Dorado   Columba   Puppis   Carina   Vela  
(alphabetical links)

LEO MINOR

The Little Lion

leominor-jamieson-1822-cr (195K)
Leo Minor - Celestial Atlas by Alexander Jamieson - 1822






Leo Minor is one of seven constellations introduced by the famous Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687). In his catalogue of 1564 stars, Prodromus Astronomiae, he included the seven new constellations: Canes Venatici, Lacerta, Leo Minor, Lynx, Scutum, Sextans, and Vulpecula. To the brightest star in Leo Minor, Hevelius attached the name Praecipua, the Latin term for chief, or leader. Praecipua has a visual magnitude of 3.83, and it is 98 light years away from Earth. One must have quite an imagination to see a lion cub in the small grouping of stars squeezed between Leo and Ursa Major, for much like its corporeal namesake, the constellation of Leo Minor keeps itself safely hidden in the celestial undergrowth.

leominor (37K)

There has been one exoplanet found so far in Leo Minor. It has a mass of 1.78 Jupiters, and orbits a star labeled HD 87883, just beyond the limits of naked eye visibility. For more information, see NASA's Planet Quest.

There are a few faint galaxies in Leo Minor, the brightest of which is NGC 3344, a face-on spiral with a magnitude of 11. It is 15 million light years away.

ngc3344-hubble-sm (131K)
NGC 3344 - Spiral Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope - October, 2012







Alphabetical Links to the Constellations

ANDROMEDA   AQUARIUS   AQUILA   ARIES   AURIGA   BOOTES   CAMELOPARDALIS   CANCER   CANES VENATICI   CANIS MAJOR   CANIS MINOR   CAPRICORNUS   CARINA   CASSIOPEIA   CENTAURUS   CEPHEUS   CETUS   COLUMBA   COMA BERENICES   CORONA AUSTRALIS   CORONA BOREALIS   CORVUS   CRATER   CRUX   CYGNUS   DELPHINUS   DORADO   DRACO   EQUULEUS   ERIDANUS   FORNAX   GEMINI   HERCULES   HYDRA   LACERTA   LEO   LEO MINOR   LEPUS   LIBRA   LUPUS   LYNX   LYRA   MONOCEROS   OPHIUCHUS   ORION   PEGASUS   PERSEUS   PISCES   PISCIS AUSTRALIS   PUPPIS   SAGITTA   SAGITTARIUS   SCORPIUS   SCULPTOR   SCUTUM   SERPENS   SEXTANS   TAURUS   TUCANA   URSA MAJOR   URSA MINOR   VELA   VIRGO   VULPECULA  

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