The constellation Leo, the Lion, is a stargazer's sign of spring. When Leo can be seen rising in the early evening, this is a reminder that spring is coming soon.

Leo has the distinctive shape of a lion in profile that is easy to recognize. Its brightest star, Regulus, is a the base of the front end of the lion, where the stars form a "sickle" shape (or a backward question mark). A triangle of three bright stars marks the rear end of the lion.

Many galaxies, large and small, can be found within the boundaries of this constellation. The constellation is flanked by two large, naked-eye star clusters. To the west is the Beehive Cluster, M44 in Cancer. To the east is the very large open cluster Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices.

To the north of Leo is Leo Minor, a small constellation of just a few inconspicuous stars.

View larger image

Image details: 5 images, each 15 seconds at ISO 1600, taken with a Canon T6i camera at a focal length of 18 mm.

March 2019