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LEO
By Nina Saddler
The formation
• Leo is the 12th largest constellation in
size, occupying an area of 947 square
degrees.
• It is located in the second quadrant of the
northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be
seen at latitudes between +90° and -65°.
The region
• The neighboring constellations are Cancer,
Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor,
Lynx, Sextans, Ursa Major and Virgo.
• Leo contains five Messier objects: Messier 65
(M65, NGC 3623), Messier 66 (M66, NGC
3627), Messier 95 (M95, NGC 3351), Messier 96
(M96, NGC 3368), and Messier 105 (M105,
NGC 3379). It has 11 stars with known planets.
Cool information
• There are two meteor showers associated with
the constellation. The Leonids usually peak on
November 17-18 every year and have a radiant
near the bright star Gamma Leonis. The January
Leonids are a minor shower that peaks between
January 1 and 7.
• Leo belongs to the Zodiac family of
constellations, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius,
Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces.
Myth
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The Greeks associated Leo constellation with the Nemean Lion, the beast
killed by Heracles during the first of his twelve labours. Both Eratosthenes
and Hyginus wrote that the lion was placed among the constellations
because it was the king of beasts.
The lion lived in a cave in Nemea, a town located to the south-west of
Corinth. It was killing the local inhabitants and could not be killed because
its skin could not be pierced by any weapons.
Hercules and the Nemean lion, photo: Andreas PraefckeHeracles could not
kill the lion with arrows, so he trapped the lion in its cave, grappled with the
beast and eventually choked it to death. He used the lion’s claws to cut off
its pelt, and then wore the pelt as a cloak, complete with the lion’s head.
The cloak both protected Heracles and made him appear even more
fearsome.
In the sky, the six bright stars that form the shape of a sickle represent the
lion’s head, and the brightest star in the constellation, Regulus (Alpha
Leonis), marks the beast’s heart. Another bright star, Denebola (Beta
Leonis) marks the tip of the lion’s tail. Algieba (Gamma Leonis), lies on the
lion’s neck, even though its name means “the forehead.” Zosma (Delta
Leonis) marks the lion’s rump.
Stars-regulus
• Regulus – α Leonis (Alpha Leonis)-Regulus, Alpha
Leonis, is the brightest star in Leo and the 22nd brightest
star in the sky. It has an apparent visual magnitude of
1.35 and is approximately 77 light years distant.Regulus
is a four-star system composed of two pairs of stars.
Regulus A is a spectroscopic binary star composed of a
blue-white main sequence star belonging to the spectral
class B7 V, and a companion star which cannot be
resolved, but is believed to be a white dwarf. The two
stars complete an orbit around their common centre of
mass every 40 days or so.
Stars-Denebola
• Denebola – β Leonis (Beta Leonis)-Denebola is the
second brightest star in Leo and the 61st brightest star in
the sky. It is a main sequence star with the stellar
classification A3 V. It has an apparent visual magnitude
of 2.113 and is approximately 35.9 light years distant
from Earth. The star can easily be seen without
binoculars.Denebola has 75% more mass than the Sun,
173% of the solar radius, and is 12 times more luminous.
It is classified as a Delta Scuti variable, which means
that its brightness varies slightly over a period of a few
hours. Denebola exhibits variations in luminosity of 0.025
magnitudes about ten times a day.
Stars-Algieba
• Algieba – γ Leonis (Gamma Leonis) -Gamma Leonis is a double
star in Leo. Its traditional name, Algieba or Al Gieba, comes from the
Arabic Al-Jabhah, which means “the forehead.” The star is
sometimes also known by its Latin name, Juba.Algieba is composed
of a giant star with the spectral classification K1-IIIbCN0.5 and a
dimmer companion star which belongs to the spectral class
G7IIICN-I. The brighter giant is 180 times more luminous than the
Sun and has an apparent visual magnitude of 2.28. The G7 class
star has a visual magnitude of 3.51, is 50 times brighter than the
Sun, and has 10 times the solar diameter. The two stars have an
orbital period of 500 years. A planet was discovered in the orbit of
the primary star in November 2009.The Gamma Leonis system has
a combined apparent visual magnitude of 1.98 and is approximately
130 light years distant from the Sun. It is easy to observe in a small
telescope under good conditions and appears as a bright double
star with orange red and greenish yellow components.
Cited
• http://www.constellationguide.com/constellation-list/leoconstellation/