The constellation Leo is the main one in the spring sky. Constellation Leo: location and bright stars

Most constellations are nothing like what their names indicate. In the constellation Pegasus, for example, it is difficult to recognize the legendary winged horse, and in the constellation Lynx - a forest predator.

Another thing is Lev. You just need a little imagination to find and recognize the king of beasts in the pattern of its brightest stars. The figure of this constellation is so simple and expressive that it is instantly memorable. Therefore, Leo is often used to search for neighboring constellations, which are not nearly as expressive.

But how to find the constellation Leo in the starry sky?

First let's agree When we will look for him. Let's look in the evening, because it is easier to do it in the evening than at night or early in the morning (at night we usually already sleep, and in the morning we rush to study or work).

In the evenings, the constellation Leo can be observed starting in February. At this time, Leo rises in the east just after dusk, and is observed in the southeast late in the evening.

On February evenings, the constellation Leo rises late in the evening in the east. Pattern: Stellarium

A special sign by which you can immediately distinguish Leo from other constellations is large trapezoid of four stars. In size it is almost equal to the Big Dipper, and the brightness of the stars of these two celestial figures is quite comparable. The brightest star of the Leo Trapezium is in its lower right corner. This Regulus, the main star of the constellation and the twentieth brightest star in the entire night sky.

You don’t need any special landmarks to find the trapezoid - it will immediately catch your eye, you just have to look in the right direction! As I already said, in February the trapezoid is visible in the evenings in the east and southeast, but - pay attention! - in an inclined position.

The constellation Leo is in the southeast in the evening sky in March. Pattern: Stellarium

The most convenient time to observe the constellation Leo is spring, especially its first half. In March, with the onset of twilight, the constellation Leo appears in the southeast, being quite high in the sky - halfway between the horizon and the zenith.

Even higher, the constellation Leo is observed on April evenings. At this time, it is observed in the south and is the rightful master of the spring sky, since the constellations surrounding it are very dim. Only two stars - Arcturus and Spica - are brighter in the spring sky than Regulus. But the constellations of these stars - Bootes and Virgo - are rather indistinct. Leo's trapezium is visible in a horizontal position in April, so finding it in the sky is quite easy.

By the way, if you still doubt that you can independently detect the constellation Leo in the sky, keep a guideline: Leo is located under the bucket of the Big Dipper! Keeping this in mind, you will quickly find the constellation Leo at any time of the day or year, as long as it is above the horizon at that moment.

In spring, the Big Dipper is almost at the zenith, and the constellation Leo is below it in the southern sky. Pattern: Stellarium

It gets dark late in May; The constellation Leo appears in the southwest in the evenings and spends only a few hours in the sky before setting below the horizon.

And here you can ask: why was the constellation Leo named after the king of beasts, and not just Trapezium?

When you find the constellation Leo in the sky, take a closer look at it. Above the right edge of the trapezoid you will probably notice three more stars, which, together with Regulus and the star of Algieb (top right in the trapezoid), form a figure similar to a question mark looking in the other direction. This design has long been popularly called the Sickle for its resemblance to an ancient peasant tool.

Asterism Leo's Sickle. The handle of the sickle is marked by Regulus, and the stars Algieba, Adhafera, Rasalas and epsilon Leo mark the sickle itself. On ancient maps here the front legs, chest and head of a lying predator were depicted. Pattern: Stellarium

But in this figure you can also see the chest and head of the Lion! It seems that the predator is lying with its head raised and looking somewhere into the distance to the west.

By the way, on a dark and transparent night you can see in the sky lion tail. But we’ll talk about this star pattern later.

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The arrangement of bright stars really resembles a reclining lion, whose head and chest represent the famous “Sickle” asterism, similar to a mirrored question mark.

The “dot” at the bottom of this sign is the bright blue-white star Regulus (α Leo), which in Latin means “king”. Sometimes it is also called “Heart of the Lion” (Cor Leonis). The luminosity of Regulus is 160 times higher than the sun, and its high visible brightness (1.36 magnitude) is explained by its relative proximity to us (85 light years). Among the stars of the first magnitude, Regulus is located closest to the ecliptic, so it is often covered by the Moon.

At the back of the beast’s figure is the star Denebola (β Leo), translated from Arabic as “lion’s tail.” It has a magnitude of 2.14 magnitude and is only 43 light away. year.

At the base of the “lion’s head” is the golden-yellow Algieba (γ Leo), which means “lion’s mane.” It is a close visual binary of magnitude 2.0.

R Leo is one of the brightest long-period variables, varying in magnitude from 5th to 10th magnitude. The very faint red dwarf Wolf 359 (visible magnitude 13.45) is the third among the closest stars (distance 7.80 light years); its luminosity is 100,000 times less than the Sun. If this star took the place of our Sun, then at noon on Earth it would be little lighter than it is now at the full moon.

Among the distant objects in this constellation, the spiral galaxies M 65, M 66, M 95 and M 96, as well as the elliptical galaxy M 105, lying near the last two spirals, are interesting. Their apparent brightness ranges from magnitude 8.4 to 10.4.

Asterism "Sickle"

The Crescent asterism consists of six stars of the constellation - α (Regulus), η, γ (Algieba), ζ, μ and ε (Algenubi). The shape resembles a sickle or a mirrored question mark.

Observation

As a rule, the Sun is in the constellation from August 10 to September 15. Best conditions for observations in February and March.

In the constellation Leo lies the radiant of the Leonid meteor shower, formed from the disintegration of comet Tempel-Tuttle and observed in mid-November.

Story

The constellation was known to the Sumerians 5,000 years ago. Included in the catalog starry sky"Almagest". Classic myth associates the Lion with the slain Nemean monster. One of the earliest mentions of the constellation in Russian is in a manuscript of the 11th century, published by A. Budilovich under the title “XIII Words of Gregory the Theologian in the Old Slavic Translation...”.

Leo (zodiac sign)

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac, corresponding to the ecliptic sector from 120° to 150°, counting from the vernal equinox; The permanent sign of the trine is Fire.

In Western astrology, it is believed that the Sun is in the sign of Leo from approximately July 23 to August 23 or 22, in Vedic astrology - from August 15 to September 15. The sign of Leo should not be confused with the constellation Leo, in which the Sun is located from August 10 to September 15.

The Leo character ♌ (may not be displayed in some browsers) is Unicode decimal number 9804 or hexadecimal number 264C and can be entered into HTML code as ♌ or ♌.

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Constellation Leo from the Atlas "Uranographia" by John Hevelius (1690)

Constellation Leo from the Atlas "Uranographia" by J. E. Bode (Berlin 1801)

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Constellation Leo from the Atlas "Urania's Mirror" (London, 1825)

Mythology

Nemean lion of the first labor of Hercules. Briefly, right?

However, perhaps he was placed in heaven by Zeus simply as the king of beasts. But this is kind of a boring version.

The constellation Leo has been known to people since ancient times. The name was given to it by the Egyptians in ancient times. They associated it not with legends or mythology, but with recurring seasonal phenomena.

IN Ancient Egypt When at night in March and April, high above the horizon, almost at the very zenith, the stars of the constellation Leo began to shine, a period of terrible heat began. Even the fertile Nile Valley dried up, the soil cracked due to the unbearable heat. At this time, at night, the terrible roar of lions was heard, wandering through the desert in search of prey. Nobody dared to go there. The desert turned into a kingdom of lions. This was repeated from year to year, and therefore the ancient Egyptians named the part of the starry sky that they saw at that time after Leo. So the king of beasts, Leo, appeared in the starry sky.

According to legend, great kings were supposed to be born under the sign of this constellation. Therefore, the brightest star in the constellation Leo was named Regulus (from the Latin rex - king).

Greek mythology connects the constellation Leo with the monstrous Nemean Lion and with one of the labors of Hercules.

Having defeated the titans, Zeus overthrew them into gloomy Tartarus. At the huge gates of Tartarus, the hundred-armed Hekaton-Heirs vigilantly guarded the terrible enemies. The Titans have forever lost their power over the world. But Zeus’s struggle for power over Heaven and Earth did not end there. He still had to defeat the last enemy - Typhon, who inspired terror in everyone and was the cause of many disasters on Earth.

When Gaia (Earth) learned how cruelly Zeus treated her children - the Titans, she married the gloomy Tartarus and gave birth to the terrible hundred-headed monster Typhon - a creature with a hundred dragon heads, continuously spewing flames in all directions. As soon as Typhon rose from the bowels of the Earth, the whole Earth shook from its weight. The deafening roar of angry bulls and lions, the barking of dogs and the terrifying hissing of snakes echoed far across the Earth, and the flames emitted by the heads of the dragon burned everything around. Horror gripped people and animals, and even the gods were afraid. The earth was burning, and everything was melting from the hellish heat. Violent flames swirled around Typhon. Only Zeus was not afraid. He boldly opposed Typhon, showered him with lightning and deafened him with peals of thunder. Earth and Sky merged into a continuous fire, it seemed that even the air was burning. Zeus' lightning turned everything into ashes. Zeus incinerated all one hundred heads of Typhon, and he collapsed to the Earth like a huge rock. Such heat emanated from his body that everything around him melted, and the Earth itself almost turned into a river of fire. Wasting no time, Zeus grabbed the huge body of Typhon and threw him into the depths of the gloomy Tartarus, which gave birth to this monster. Typhon remained there forever. But even in Tartarus, Typhon also threatens the gods and strikes terror into people, causing terrible hurricanes that sweep away everything in its path. The fire of Typhon passes through the thickness of the mountains, and then rivers of fire flow along their slopes. But the worst thing happened when Typhon married Echidna. They gave birth to terrible monsters - the two-headed dog Ortho, the three-headed dog Kerberus with a snake tail, the Lernaean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, etc. Some monsters rose to Earth and caused terrible disasters and terrible suffering to people.

Typhon and Echidna (half-woman, half-snake) left their brainchild - a huge lion - in the mountains, not far from the city of Nemea (hence its name - the Nemean Lion). With a terrible roar, he rampaged around the city and devastated everything around. Horror gripped people and animals when they heard this roar. The people did not dare leave their homes, hunger set in, and illness began. Weeping and wailing were heard in Nemea. No one could save people from the unbearable disaster that all of Greece was talking about.

King Eurystheus instructed Hercules to kill the Nemean lion and bring his corpse to Mycenae.

Hercules immediately set off. In Nemea he saw a devastated, scorched land. All living things hid in their homes. No one could even tell him where the terrible lion’s den was located.

The whole day Hercules wandered along the wooded slopes of the mountains, but nowhere could he find the monstrous lion. The sun was already setting and it was getting dark. And then Hercules heard the terrifying roar of the lion, who woke up and waited for complete darkness to start hunting...

In several giant leaps, Hercules reached the lion's den, which was a huge cave with two exits. In front of one of the exits, Hercules piled up huge stones, and he hid at the second exit and prepared a bow and arrows. A little time passed, and a giant lion appeared from the cave with a roar. Hercules showered him with arrows, but none of them even wounded the monster - the arrows bounced off the lion, whose skin was harder than iron. Hercules did not know that the Nemean Lion was invulnerable to weapons. When Hercules saw that the arrows were bouncing off the lion, he threw away his bow and attacked the lion with a club. With one powerful blow to the head, Hercules stunned him, then grabbed him by the neck with his powerful hands and squeezed so hard that he strangled the lion.

Having shouldered a huge beast, Hercules went to Nemea. There he made a sacrifice to Zeus and established the Nemean Games in memory of his first feat, during which wars stopped throughout Greece and universal peace reigned.

Hercules carried the lion to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the monster, he was so afraid of the strength and power of Hercules that he forbade him to approach Mycenae, and ordered evidence of the fulfillment of his further orders to be shown at the city walls.

The great thunderer Zeus turned the Nemean Lion into a constellation and left it shining in the sky to remind people of the feat of his son Hercules, who saved people from this terrible disaster.

Leo is a very important constellation, which is the main figure of the night spring sky. Serves as a basis for amateur astronomers to search for other constellations. The constellation Leo is very rich in various interesting objects that are very easy to see with a small telescope and even with the naked eye. It can be seen from February to March in the southern night sky.

- is the most important object of the constellation Leo. It is located almost in the center of the constellation and is often associated with the heart. This is the brightest luminary, the brightness of which is 160 times higher than that of our Sun. This star is located 85 light years from us, which explains its high apparent brightness.

Simulation of Regulus rotation

Denebola- the second brightest object that belongs to Leo. This is the outermost star, often called the tail.

Algeiba- a double star, one of the most beautiful in the sky. Denotes a majestic mane. If you look closely, the slightly orange star has a noticeable golden companion. The orbital period of this binary system is approximately 510 years.

There are several more and even triple stars in the constellation that are worth paying attention to. These are stars called 54 and 88 Leo (double), and 90 Leo (triple). If you look closely at the star 90 Leo, you can see two bright blue dots with a distinct satellite on a short distance from them.

Variable stars

Also present in Leo. It is worth paying attention to the Lev variable R - one of the long-known variables. Its brightness varies from 10 to 5 magnitudes. It is very interesting to find this star during the period of minimum luminosity and watch its “burning up”, which lasts 312.5 days.

A very interesting object is located in the very depths of the constellation. This is Wolf 359 - a red dwarf, which is located only 7 from us. Due to its low brightness, this star is visible only through telescopes.

Orange Wolf 359 in the center of the photo

Galaxies

With a 7-8 centimeter telescope you can see not only stars, but also entire galaxies. So, if you look closely at the constellation Leo, you can easily find the “Leo Trio”, namely the galaxies NGC 3628, M 65 and M 66. M 66 is the largest galaxy of this trio. It is located 35 million light years away. It has a clearly defined core and arms, which are shifted upward relative to the plane of the galaxy. It is assumed that this effect was formed due to the gravitational influence of two neighboring galaxies lying nearby. If you take a more powerful telescope, you can see and examine the structure of M95, M96, M105, NGC 2903.

Asterisms

In the constellation Leo there is an asterism called “Sickle”. It consists of six stars. Namely - α, η, γ, ζ, μ and ε. The shape of this asterism resembles a sickle, or a question mark. The point of this question mark is the brightest star of this constellation - Regulus.

Story

The constellation Leo has been known for several thousand years. Oddly enough, it also acquired a name immediately, which is still in use today. Assyrians, Babylonians, Hindus, Persians and Jews saw it all this constellation and they named it precisely in honor of the king of beasts.

Message quote Constellation Leo in astronomy, astrology and legends

From July 23 to August 22, Leo dominates the zodiac horizon. The lion is truly a royal animal, personifying strength and power, and does not tolerate competition.

Meanwhile, in astronomy there are two Leo Constellations, located nearby. On celestial atlases, astronomers placed them side by side, since it was believed that Leo Minor should be similar in its influence to Leo Major. In the Northern Hemisphere, they can be seen almost always, although they are especially visible in the spring - in February and March.
The close proximity of these constellations in the night sky does not give reason to consider them under the general name “Constellation Leo”. Most often they are mentioned separately.
Constellation Leo Minor Leo Minor is located between Ursa Major and Leo - this is a very small constellation that contains 34 stars. This constellation is not as remarkable as its older brother.

Leo Minor was discovered by Jan Hevelius in 1610. He was the first to place the constellation in his atlas “Uranography”.

Drawing of the constellation Leo from the atlas of John Hevelius.

The Big Lion is better known. And for good reason. After all, the Big Lion has much more reasons to boast. Its brightest star, Regulus (translated from Latin as “king”), is 160 times brighter than our Sun and about 3 times its size. Sometimes it is also called “Heart of the Lion” (Cor Leonis).

At the base of the "lion's head" is the brightest star Algieba (γ Leo), which means "lion's mane". In January 2001, it was discovered in orbit around Algieba large object, eight times the size of Jupiter.

The arrangement of bright stars really resembles a reclining lion, whose head and chest represent the famous “Sickle” asterism, similar to a mirrored question mark.
The triangle of stars at the back of the Leo figure begins with the star Denebola (β Leo), which means “lion's tail.” There are about 70 stars in total, but most of them are faintly visible.

There are a number of luminous galaxies within Leo, including the Leo Trios M66, M65 and NGC 3628. The Leo ring is a cloud of hydrogen and helium, with two dwarf galaxies orbiting it. In mid-November, you can also observe the Leonids meteor shower, which peaks on November 17th.

The constellation Leo is one of the earliest recognized constellations. The Mesopotamians are known to have documented this constellation under the name "Lion". The Persians called it as "Ser" or "Shir"; Turks as "Artan"; Syrians as "Aryo"; Jewish nation as "Arye"; The Indians called this constellation "Simha". All these names translate as "Lion".

Lysippos the Great Greek sculptor of the early Hellenistic era (IV century BC)

The constellation Leo represents the Nemean Leo, who was killed by Hercules in the first of his 12 labors. This murder was in retaliation for the murder of his family. According to Greek mythology, The Lion lived in a mountain valley near the Argolid city of Nemea, rampaging throughout the area and killing the inhabitants. The lion was of enormous height and remarkable strength, and his skin was so hard that neither iron, nor bronze, nor stone could pierce it.

Fresco in Pompeii depicting Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion

On the way to Nemea, Hercules stopped with the farmer Molorch. They agreed that if the hero did not return in 30 days, Molorkh would sacrifice his last ram to the masters of Hades. If Hercules manages to return, the ram will be sacrificed to Zeus. It took the hero just 30 days to find the cave where the Nemean lion lived. He blocked one of the entrances to it with stones, hid near the other and began to wait for the monster to appear. At sunset he saw a lion and shot three arrows at it in a row, but none of them pierced the skin. The lion rushed at Hercules, but he hit him with a club made from an ash tree, cut down in a Nemean grove, and then strangled the beast, stunned by the blow. And then he ascended to Heaven as one of his conquests.

Relief of the front wall of a marble sarcophagus

A very long time ago, about 4.5 thousand years ago, in the constellation Leo there was a point of the summer solstice, at southern countries At this time, extreme heat reigned, so for many peoples the Lion became a symbol of fire. The Assyrians called it the “Great Fire”.

In Egypt, during this period of the summer solstice, the Nile began to flood. Therefore, the gates of the sluices that directed the waters of this river through canals to the fields were made in the form of a lion’s head. And now in fountains a stream of water pours out of a lion’s mouth, and no one even wonders where this tradition comes from...

Astrology is not a science, but according to its laws, Leo is the fifth constellation of the Zodiac, corresponding to the ecliptic sector from 120° to 150°, counting from the point of the vernal equinox.
In Western astrology, the Sun is believed to be in the sign of Leo from approximately July 23 to August 21. The sign of Leo should not be confused with the constellation Leo, in which the Sun is located from August 10 to September 15.

Leo symbol:

Sign Type: Fire

Planet of Leo: Sun

Lucky Color: Gold, Orange, White, Red

Leo Flowers: Sunflower

Leo Stone: Peridot

Leo is considered a masculine sign, an extrovert. Every Leo is born with luck in his hands, just as love conquers all adversity.
Lions are divided into two groups. The first are those who like status more than money, and the second, vice versa. But if Leo is ruled by the heart, then he is able to overcome any difficulties in life.
Leos, like all born leaders, never rest. Both in the spiritual realm and in the material realm, those born under the zodiac sign Leo constantly strive to create something new. In order to achieve the goal, Leo will be in large quantities wasting money, time and knowledge with little or no care for yourself.

Leos are very attracted to the opposite sex, but they are ruined by excessive gullibility. Leo can often become a victim of deception, because he trusts other people as much as himself.
Leos don't cheat. If they find out that their significant other is guilty of this, then a disappointed Leo may forget about love. Leos hate it when they are outright lied to. If a person born under this Sign finds out that you lied to him, you can say goodbye to him forever. Leo's respect will never be returned to you in this case.

Leos will stand up for their friends or loved ones. They will not be afraid of anyone or anything, fearlessly rushing at the offender, tearing him into small pieces. In part, this happens because Leos think that you are possessive, but the root cause is not known even to them. It’s just that something happens inside them at such moments, through which they become stronger and braver.

Leos are very daring and very dynamic, but despite this, they suffer less than others from injuries and injuries. This also applies to driving a car - according to statistics, Lions are the least likely to get into accidents. Experts say that the confidence and composure of their character is to blame for everything.
Leos remain calm even in the most unusual situations. When everyone is running and yelling with their hands up, these people calmly solve the problem. Well... or they try, at least. Only human stupidity... or a long wait can throw them off balance.
Leos hate waiting. This Zodiac Sign is less likely than others to sit in line. If Leo is sitting in line with you, then he can be simply unbearable. This is perhaps the only situation that should be avoided when being around Leo.

Leos adore luxury, which emphasizes their status, but this does not necessarily manifest itself in everything. There is something so important to them that they will never give up. Some people like to eat in a restaurant, some like to drive an expensive car, some love chic clothes. For this they are able to sacrifice anything.
Leos always have a fairly high opinion of themselves. Their weakness is their pride, such people melt from flattery and this is probably the easiest way to their heart, but the slightest criticism will close the possibility of peaceful coexistence.
That's how Leos are.

There are three levels of soul development for people born under the sign of Leo. The highest is represented by the Sphinx - it is wise beyond the weather, a mythical creature, a great teacher and mentor. The second is Leo, the king of the jungle, who rules the Leo ego, but always stands up for and supports those he loves. And the last level is the Lion cub, an immature, unformed baby, scared of everything new.

In the night sky, even with the naked eye you can see the constellation Leo. Leo Major and Leo Minor, located nearby, have long been the subject of study by astronomers, in no way inferior to other constellations in this sense. Where and when can they be seen in the sky? What luminaries are included in these constellations? This is what we will try to find out further.

Both constellations are in the Northern Hemisphere. Of these, the Big Lion is, of course, the most famous. Its prototype was the same one that the hero of Greek mythology, Hercules, desperately fought against. Leo Minor is located between Ursa Major and Leo. The close proximity of these constellations in the night sky does not give reason to consider them under the general name “Constellation Leo”. Most often they are mentioned separately.

And for good reason. After all, the Big Lion has much more reasons to boast. Its Regulus (translated from Latin as “king”) is 160 times brighter than our Sun and about 3 times larger than it. Other brightest stars in the constellation Leo: Denebola, Algieba, Zosma and Algenubi.

It is located next to such constellations as Virgo, Cancer, Sextant, Chalice. In total, it contains about 70 stars, but most of them are faintly visible.

The shape of the constellation is similar to an irregular hexagon, on one side of which there is a curl in the shape of an inverted question mark. This curl is the supposed mane of the lion, and its six stars form the famous Sickle asterism.

There are quite a lot of interesting objects in the constellation Leo: galaxies, double and variable stars, which can only be seen with a powerful telescope.

The constellation is best visible in February and March, and in mid-November you can also observe the Leonids meteor shower, which peaks on November 17.

Constellation Leo Minor

Leo Minor is a very small constellation that contains 34 stars. It is best viewed in spring and summer. not as remarkable as its older brother. No interesting objects are observed in it, and its brightest stars do not form a clear geometric figure.

Leo Minor was discovered by Jan Hevelius in 1610. He was the first to place the constellation in his atlas “Uranography”. Later, astronomer Francis Bailey, pointing out the bright stars of Leo Minor, noted only the second brightest, completely forgetting about the first.

Conclusion

The constellation Leo is two constellations located next to each other. In the Northern Hemisphere, they can be seen almost always, although they are especially visible in the spring. On celestial atlases, astronomers placed them side by side, since it was believed that Leo Minor should be similar in its influence to Leo Major.