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| Abbreviation: Leo |
| English Name: The Lion |
| Genitive: Regulus |
| Hemisphere: Northern / Southern Hemisphere (Bold means the more area in square feet in Northern Hemisphere.) |
| Location: Between the constellations of Virgo and Cancer. |
| Visible between latitudes: +90 and -65 degrees |
| Best season: Spring |
| Seen in three seasons: Winter, Spring and Summer |
| Best seen in: April (map) |
| Seen between: January and June |
| Right Ascension (RA): 11 hour |
| Declination (DEC): +15 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 947 square degrees (12th) |
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Leo (The Lion)
- Large and easily identified constellation of the Ecliptic.
o - Its brightest star is magnitude +1.0 Regulus, you can find Leo in the sky by looking for the “Sickle” starting at Regulus and following the backwards question mark or a hook by an easily recognizable pattern of six stars. (To find Regulus, use the Big Dipper for the “Sickle“.)
o - Leo contains many bright galaxies; there are five of Messier’s Catalog.
o - The Sun passes through it from 10 August to 16 September, so better to view it in the month of April.
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Messier Objects in Leo
| M65 – Spiral Galaxy, a small group of galaxies consisting of the galaxies M66 and NGC 3628 (The Hamburger Galaxy), also known as The Leo Triplet. |
| M66 – Spiral Galaxy, a small group of galaxies consisting of the galaxies M65 and NGC 3628, also known as The Leo Triplet. |
| M95 – Barred Spiral Galaxy, the classical example of a barred spiral galaxy in the Messier Catalog. |
| M96 – Spiral Galaxy, very bright and large, little covered, suddenly much brighter, having patches in the middle. |
| M105 – Elliptical Galaxy, large, round & brighter in the middle. |
More objects in Leo
| Select Catalog | No of Objects |
| Barnard (B) | 0x object |
| Caldwell (C) | 1x object |
| Collinder (Cr) | 0x object |
| New General Catalogue (NGC) | 385x objects |
| Index Catalogue (IC) | 442x objects |
| Sharpless (Sh2) | 0x object |
Features of Interest
- Leo Triplet – Probably the most interesting member of the Leo Triplet was too faint for Messier to notice.
o - NGC 2903 – Other pretty spiral galaxy in Leo, which Charles Messier missed when compiling his catalog.
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Named Stars
- Regulus (Alpha Leo)
- Denebola (Beta Leo)
- Algieba (Gamma 1 Leo)
- Zosma (Delta Leo)
- Ras Elased Australis (Epsilon Leo)
- Adhafera (Zeta Leo)
- Chort (Theta Leo)
- Al Minliar al Asad (Kappa Leo)
- Alterf (Lambda Leo)
- Ras Elased Borealis (Mu Leo)
- Subra (Omicron Leo)
- more list of stars in Leo
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Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Leo) | Best Seen in: April (map) | Seen between: January and June |
IAU Sky Chart: Leo
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Constellations – Visible from the UK
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Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius | ||
| Sculptor |
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Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
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Back to …Constellation Names
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