Ephemeris: 04/13/2026 – How the Greeks saw the constellation Leo
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, April 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 8:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:00. The Moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 5:35 tomorrow morning.
The constellations that we know are mostly those that come from the Sumerians and other civilizations who lived around what is now modern day Iraq. They were adopted and adapted by the ancient Greeks, and to us. Foremost of these was Leo the lion, seen high in the south-southeastern sky at 10 PM. It is easily found by imagining the bottom of the Big Dipper leaks. It will drip on the back of Leo, with its distinctive backward question mark as his front with his head and mane. To the Greeks he was the Nemean Lion, whose coat was impervious to arrows or spears. Heracles (Hercules) was able to kill it by first stunning it with a club then strangling it with his bare hands. It was the first of his Twelve Labors.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
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