Congratulations to all Catholics. Yesterday, your College of Cardinals elected a new pope. In honor of him taking the name Leo XIV, I thought this would be a good time to tell you some facts about the constellation Leo the Lion. Actually, to commemorate the new pope, 14 facts.
I) Leo is a springtime constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. It lies south of the Big Dipper, the most recognized asterism in the constellation Ursa Major the Great Bear.
II) Of the 88 official constellations, Leo ranks 12th in size. It covers 946.96 square degrees, which equals 2.296 percent of the sky.
III) The constellation is best seen around March 1 each year, the date on which it stands opposite the Sun in our sky. It’s in the same direction as our daytime star around August 31.
IV) Because Leo lies near the celestial equator, parts of it are visible from any location on Earth. But to see the entire constellation, you must live between 84° north latitude and 57° south latitude.
V) In terms of overall brightness, Leo ranks 70th, the result of it being so large.
VI) It contains 52 stars brighter than magnitude 5.5, a pretty good limit for most people observing from a dark site.
VII) The Lion contains five Messier objects, all of which are galaxies: M65, M66, M95, M96, and M105.
VIII) Leo is home to two minor meteor showers. The Delta Leonids peak February 26, and the Sigma Leonids peak April 17. You’ll be lucky to see even a single meteor from either of these showers.
IX) The one major meteor shower that originates from this star pattern is the Leonids, which peak around November 17. Normally, an observer at a dark site can see about 15 meteors per hour near the peak time. However, the Leonids attain their maximum activity every 33 years. Predictions can be dicey, but astronomers who study meteor showers think the next great outburst could come in 2033 or 2034, with up to 500 meteors per hours visible during the peak time.
X) Leo contains the 21st-brightest star, Regulus, or Alpha Leonis. Regulus (along with Aldebaran, Antares, and Fomalhaut) was one of the four Royal Stars of ancient Persia.
XI) The constellation also boasts the fifth-nearest star system, Wolf 359, which lies 7.86 light-years away.
XII) Leo’s most famous asterism (a pattern of stars that’s not an official constellation) is the Sickle. It marks the head and mane of the lion, and resembles a backward question mark in the sky.
XIII) Denebola (Beta Leonis) is part of a different asterism, one that uses stars from three separate constellations. It marks one tip of the Spring Triangle. The other two stars that create this equilateral triangle are Arcturus in Boötes andSpica in Virgo.
XIV) Leo is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. If you look at a newspaper horoscope, it will tell you the Sun is in Leo from July 23 to August 22. Ha! Maybe several millennia ago. But things change. Today, the Sun enters Leo on August 10 and leaves the constellation September 15.
So, head out after sunset and look high in the sky for the great constellation Leo. And best of luck to the new pope.
