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03/21/2022 – Ephemeris – Finding the celestial lion
This is Ephemeris for Monday, March 21st. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 12 minutes, setting at 7:56, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:42. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 12:15 tomorrow morning.
At 10 p.m. the spring constellation of Leo the lion will be fairly high in the southeast. It can be found by locating the Big Dipper high in the northeast and imagining that a hole were drilled in the bowl to let the water leak out. It would drip on the back of this giant cat. The Lion is standing or lying facing westward. His head and mane are seen in the stars as a backwards question mark. This group of stars is also called the Sickle. The bright star Regulus is at the bottom, the dot at the bottom of the question mark. A triangle of stars, to the left of Regulus, is the lion’s haunches. Leo contains some nice galaxies visible in moderate sized telescopes. The stars in Leo’s part of the sky are fewer than those in the winter sky.
The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hours). They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Leaky Big Dipper drips on Leo. The positions in the sky are for 10 pm local time, or about 2 hours after sunset. The little distorted cross at the top of the image marks the zenith. Look high in the east and southeast to see these stars. Created using my LookingUp program, GIMP and LibreOffice.
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.
05/06/2013 – Ephemeris – The Constellation Leo the Lion and its meaning to the ancients
Ephemeris for Monday, May 6th. The sun rises at 6:25. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:53. The moon, 3 days before new, will rise at 5:03 tomorrow morning.
Leo the lion’s image as displayed by Stellarium for May 6, at 10 p.m. due south.
The constellation of Leo the lion is seen in the south at 10:30 p.m. Regulus lies at the bottom of a backwards question mark of stars that are his head and mane. This backwards question mark is also known as the asterism or informal constellation of the Sickle. To the left of the Sickle is a triangle of stars that are his haunches. As the lion is the king of beasts it is fitting that its brightest star Regulus means “Little King Star”. It was thought in ancient Egypt that the heat of summer, when the sun was in Leo drove the lions to drink the waters of the Nile. The lion was also the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah, from Jacob’s prophesy in Genesis, and as such may have played a part in the origin of the Star of Bethlehem.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
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