Leo the Lion is a fantastic spring constellation, its one of
the few constellations that looks like the figure it is supposed to represent.
The lion’s head is outlined by a sickle of backwards question mark which at the
bottom is the bright star Regulus.
In ancient Greece Leo represents the Nemean Lion which
originally came from the Moon, and after his earthly stay, is carried back to
the heavens with his slayer Hercules.
It is rather ironic that although Hercules slays the lion,
in the sky the constellation of Leo the Lion is much more prominent than
Hercules.
The Egyptian king Necepsos taught that at the creation the
Sun rose here from near the star Denebola which is in Leo.
The Persians called the constellation Ser, the Turks called
it Artan, the Syrians knew it as Aryo, the Jews called it Arye while to the
Babylonians it was Aru- all the names mean a Lion.
On Ninevite cylinders Leo is depicted as in fatal conflict
with a bull, typifying the victory of light over darkness; and in Euphratean
astronomy it was additionally known as Gisbar-namru-sa-pan, variously
translated as the Shinning One which precedes Bel; this is our Ursa Major.
Throughout antiquity the Lion and the constellation always
have been identified with the Sun, indeed in all historic ages till it finally
appears on the royal arms of England, as well as those of many of the early
noble families of England. During the 12th century it was the only
animal shown on Anglo Saxon shields.
Alpha or Regulus
which means ‘Prince or Little King, lies 79 light years away, it has a
brightness of magnitude 1.4 Regulus is a B class star with a surface
temperature 12,000’C, much hotter than our Sun at 5,800’C.
Regulus was the leader of the four Royal Stars of the
ancient Persians, The Four Guardians of the Heavens. The other three are
Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus, Aldebaran in Taurus and Antares in Scorpio.
The Arab astronomer Al Biruni called Regulus the Heart of
the Royal Lion, which “rises when Suhail rises in Al Hijaz”. Another Arab name for the Lion’s Heart was Al
Kalb al Asad. The title of the Lion’s heart was also recognised by Greek and
Roman astronomers.
To Euphratean astronomers the star was Gus-ba-ra, The Flame
or the Red Fire of the House of the East.
Beta or Denebola is derived from the Arabic name of Al
Dhanab al Asad of the Lion’s Tail. The Arab astronomer Al Biruni wrote of the
star, “The heat turns away when it rises, and the cold turns away when it
disappears”
The Persians knew the star as Avdem or the One in the Tail,
while the Khorasmians called it Wilhayu or the Burning One.
Gamma or Algeiba which means ‘Lions Mane’, is an orange
class K giant star with a magnitude of 2.1 and is 130 light years away.
Delta or Zosma which means ‘Girdle or hip’ is an A class
star lying at a distance of 58 light years, Zosma has a magnitude of 2.6. Ulug Beg called the star Al Thahr al Asad, or
the Lion’s Back.
The Chinese saw this star as Shang Seang or the Higher
Minister of State.
There are five messier galaxies in Leo all require
telescopes to be seen.
M65,
A galaxy lying about 35 million light years away, it was
discovered by Messier in 1780 at magnitude 10, a telescope is needed to find
it. M65 together with M66 and NGC 3628 form what astronomers call the Leo
triplet of galaxies. They can all be seen close together in the sky.
M66
M66 at mag 8.9 is brighter than M65 and can be glimpsed with
binoculars but telescopes will allow you to see it much better. It was
discovered by Messier in 1780. It lies
at a distance of around 31 million light years. There have been 5 supernovae
seen in M66 in 1973.1989,1997, 2014 and 2016, a reason why these galaxies are
very popular with astrophotographers.
NGC 3628
Known as the Hamburger Galaxy it is the third member of the
Leo Triplet of galaxies. It lies at a distance of 35 million light years and
shines at magnitude 10. I am somewhat surprised that Messier did not see this
galaxy as it lies so close to M65 and M66
M95
Lying at a distance of 33 million light years M95 has a
magnitude of 11.4. A supernova was seen here in 2012.
M96
With a magnitude of 10, M96 is too faint to be seen with
binoculars. It lies at a distance of 31 million light years and was discovered
in 1781. A supernova was seen in 1998.
M105
Yet another galaxy lying at a distance of 36 million light
years. Again, it has a magnitude of 10. Messier would have seen M105 in 1781.
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