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04/17/2014 – Ephemeris – Leo and the bright star Regulus
Ephemeris for Thursday, April 17th. The sun rises at 6:54. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 8:29. The moon, 2 days past full, will rise at 11:19 this evening.
High in the south at 10 p.m. is a pattern of stars that’s in the shape of a backward question mark. This informal star group or asterism, is also called the sickle. It is the head and mane of the official zodiacal constellation of Leo the lion. To the left is a triangle of stars is his hind end. The bright star at the bottom of the question mark, or end of the sickle’s handle is Regulus, the “Little King Star”, alluding to the lion’s status as the king of the jungle. Regulus is about 79 light years away and is a 4 star system that exists as two star pairs. The bright star Regulus itself and a companion too close to be imaged directly in telescopes, and a nearby pair of dim stars make up the system. The Moon often passes in front of Regulus, since it’s close its path.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Leo’s sickle and backward question mark asterisms circled in green. Note that it is within the range of the moon’s orbit so it can be covered or occulted by the Moon. Created using Stellarium.
Leo finder chart for 10 p.m. April 17, 2014. Created using Stellarium.
03/24/2014 – Ephemeris – The spring constellation of Leo the lion
Ephemeris for Monday, March 24th. The sun will rise at 7:38. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 7:59. The moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 4:09 tomorrow morning.
Tonight about 10:00 the constellation of Leo the lion can be seen half way up the sky in the east-southeast. The head and mane of a male lion is seen as a backward question mark. This pattern of stars is also called the sickle. The bright star that is the dot at the bottom is Regulus, the “Little King Star”. To the lower left is a triangle of stars that is the lion’s hind end with the star Denebola at the far end. It is said that the reason the figure of a lion came to be seen in the stars here is because lions came from the desert, driven by the heat, to drink from the river Nile the time of the year that the sun was in this part of the sky. Leo is one of the constellations of the Zodiac. Leo can also be found by first locating the Big Dipper high in the northeast. Imagine a hole drilled in the bowl of the dipper and the water will fall on Leo’s back.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Leo and the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) using the angle measuring tool as an arrow. Date: March 24, 10 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
04/28/11 – Ephemeris – Some ancient ideas about Leo the lion
Thursday, April 28th. The sun rises at 6:37. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 8:43. The moon, 4 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:38 tomorrow morning.
The constellation Leo the lion is now high in the south at 10 pm. It’s directly below the Big Dipper at the zenith. Leo is marked by two sets of easily recognizable stars. The front of him is a backward question mark of stars, also known as the Sickle that mark his head and mane, along with the front part of his body. Regulus is the star at the bottom of that backwards question mark. It’s the Little King Star. The hind end of him is a triangle of stars ending with another bright star, but not as bright as Regulus. It’s Denebola which means Lion’s tail. It is thought when the sun was in this constellation long ago that the lions were driven by the heat to quench their thirst in the Nile river. Ancients physicians thought medicines were poison when the sun was here too.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Leo, April 28 2011, 10 p.m. Created using Stellarium.
03/24/11 – Ephemeris – The constellation Leo
Thursday, March 24th. The sun will rise at 7:38. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 7:59. The moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 2:29 tomorrow morning
Besides the advancing sunset times and warming temperatures, there’s another sign that spring is here. That’s the appearance of the constellation Leo the lion high in the southeast in the evening. The front of this beast is a backward question mark of stars with the bright star Regulus as the dot at the bottom. That’s his head, mane and chest. His haunches are a triangle of stars to the left, ending with the bright star Denebola. A way to find Leo is to remember that cat’s aren’t supposed to like water. Find the Big Dipper high in the northeast and imagine drilling a hole in the bottom of the bowl. The water will fall on Leo’s back. Also you’ll notice the stars of spring to the east are more sparse than those of winter to the west.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
This is Tuesday’s image, showing how to locate Leo.
The Big Dipper points to other stars and constellations. Created using my own LookingUp program.
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