Fact sheet
- Latin name
- Leo (Leo)
- Brightest star
- Regulus (α Leo)
- Relative brightness
- 1.36 mag
- Hipparcos catalogue
- HIP 49669
- Area
- 947 deg² (rank: 12 out of 88)
- Right ascension
- 9h 21m 37s to 11h 58m 26s
- Declination
- -6° 41' 30'' to +32° 58' 09''
- Neighbouring constellations
- Leo Minor, Cancer, Hydra, Sextans, Crater, Virgo, Coma Berenices, Ursa Major, Lynx
Visibility
The constellation Leo
Leo is a constellation of the northern hemisphere. It lies on the ecliptic and is therefore one of the zodiac constellations. The ecliptic is the apparent path of the sun over the course of a year. During this time, the sun passes through all the zodiac constellations. From 10 August to 16 September, the sun is in the constellation Leo. During this time, the constellation cannot be observed because it is in the daytime sky.
Its brightest star is α Leonis, which bears the Latin name Regulus (little king). It represents the heart of the lion. To the north of it, five stars arranged in a semicircle form the head of the lion. Every year in November, a meteor shower passes through Leo: the Leonids. With a little luck, several shooting stars per hour can be seen in the night sky at this time.
Mythology
King Eurystheus of Mycenae was afraid of losing his throne to his cousin Hercules (Greek: Heracles). One day he joined forces with Hera, the wife of Zeus, and called Hercules, an illegitimate son of Zeus, into his service. But Hercules firmly refused. Hera was so angry about this that she drove Hercules mad. In his madness, Hercules killed his wife and his three children. To be forgiven, he followed the advice of the oracle of Delphi and served King Eurystheus for twelve years. The king gave him twelve tasks, which became known as the Twelve Labours of Hercules, in Greek Dodekathlos. His first task was to kill the Nemean lion, which lived in a cave near the city of Nemea and regularly hunted people and animals there. Nothing could pierce the lion's skin. In addition, the lion was hard to catch because its cave had two exits. Hercules therefore blocked one exit with a rock and managed to strangle the lion as it was leaving the cave. The skin of the dead lion later became his cloak.
Astrological significance
People born between 23 July and 23 August are born under the zodiac sign Leo. They are considered self-confident, ambitious and sociable, and they are the great leaders among the zodiac signs. Proudly and without great effort, Leo successfully goes their own way. Power belongs to the king, and he finds it hard to hold himself back. Nobody may criticise a Leo, otherwise they will feel Leo's terrible anger.
