The constellation of Leo, one of the twelve zodiac symbols found within the night sky, represents the lion. Ancient mythology shares a tale about the mighty Hercules, son of Zeus, who murdered his own family in an entranced fit of rage. To atone for his sins, Hercules was required to complete twelve labors, one of which was to slay a mighty lion. The ancient Greeks claimed Hercules was their greatest warrior, so when they spotted the constellation it was named Leo as a tribute to his glory. Although other names and stories are shared by different cultures throughout the world, the name Leo has been generally accepted for several thousands of years. During the summer in ancient Egypt, desert lions traveled to the Nile River when it flooded each year, which happened to be when the sun aligned with Leo. Others have believed this to be the name’s true origin.
The constellation of Leo is made up of several stars forming the mighty lion’s mane and its body, and is fairly easily spotted in the sky. The trademark shape to look for appears like a backwards question mark, which is an asterism known as the Sickle. Regulus, the twenty-fifth overall brightest star in the sky, forms the bottom of the shape and is an easy centralized point to locate the Leo if the constellation is not immediately spotted.
The other predominant stars observed in Leo are Denebola, Algieba, Zosma, Chertan, Al Minliar al Asad, Alterf and Subra. It is also interesting to note that the star Wolf 359 is one of the closest stars to our solar system at only 7.78 light years away. There are also several galaxies to view within the constellation of Leo that can be viewed with low to medium powered telescopes; Messier 96, Messier 95, Messier 66 and Messier 65 are a few of the brighter ones available to look at. The Leo Ring, made up of leftover gasses from he Big Bang, are also an object of interest since much of its contents or what constitutes its formation are still unknown.
Another interesting feature of Leo is the amount of meteor showers associated with that area of space. The ones easiest to view are named the Leonids, and together they remain active through much of the year. Alpha Leonid is viewable from mid January to mid February, with multiple showers being seen nightly. Beta and Delta Leonids both happen during February to March, with Beta peaking around March 19th and Delta reaching it’s height about a month earlier. Gamma Leonids lasts from August 14th until September 12th but is generally a milder showing. Rho and Sigma Leonids have also been documented but are of questionable performance levels. The peak viewing nights are around November 17th, where 15-20 meteors per hour can be spotted.
The best time of year to view Leo depends on where you are located. Residents to the Northern Hemisphere will have the best views of this constellation during the spring season, while those in the Southern Hemisphere will have Leo above them around autumn.