An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The Lion. One of the most conspicuous → constellations in the northern hemisphere, at 10h 30m → right ascension, 15° north → declination. Leo is a constellation of the
→ Zodiac crossed by the Sun from August 10th to September 16th. Leo is visible from February through June. Its brightest star, α Leonis or → Regulus, is of the first magnitude.
Abbreviation: Leo; Genitive: Leonis.

The neighboring constellations are → Cancer, → Coma Berenices, → Crater, → Hydra, → Leo Minor, → Lynx, → Sextans, → Ursa Major, and → Virgo.

Leo contains many bright stars, many of which were individually identified by the ancients. There are four stars of first or second magnitude, which render this constellation especially prominent.

Apart from Regulus, the constellation is home to the bright stars → Denebola, the nearby star Wolf 359, and to a number of famous deep sky objects, among them galaxies Messier 65, Messier 66, Messier 95, Messier 96, Messier 105, and NGC 3628.

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 has 11 stars with known planets.

See also: → lion.