In the night sky, even with the naked eye, you can notice the constellation Lions. The adjacent Big and Small Leo have long been the subject of study by astronomers, in no way inferior in this sense to other constellations. Where and when can they be seen in the sky? What luminaries are included in these constellations? We will try to find out further.
Constellation lions
Both constellations are located in the Northern Hemisphere. Of these, of course, the Big Lion is more famous. His prototype was the Nemean Lion, the same one with whom the hero of Greek mythology Hercules fought desperately. Lesser Lion is located between Ursa Major and Leo. The close proximity of these constellations in the night sky does not give reason to consider them under the general name "Constellation of Lions." Most often they are mentioned separately.
And not in vain. Indeed, the Big Lion and the reasons to boast much more. Its brightest star Regulus (translated from the Latin “king”) is 160 times brighter than our Sun and about 3 times larger than it. Other brightest stars in the constellation Leo: Denebol, Algieba, Zosma and Algenubi.
It is located next to such constellations as Virgo, Cancer, Sextant, Chalice. In total, there are about 70 stars in its composition, but most of them are weakly visible.
The constellation is similar in shape to an irregular hexagon, on one side of which there is a curl in the shape of an inverted question mark. This curl is the alleged mane of a lion, and six of its stars form the well-known asterism of the Sickle.
The constellation Leo has a lot of interesting objects: galaxies, binary and variable stars, which can only be seen with a powerful telescope.
The constellation is best seen in February and March, and in mid-November, Leonid’s meteor shower can also be observed, whose maximum falls on November 17.
Constellation of the small lion
Little Leo is a very small constellation that contains 34 stars. It is best seen in the spring and summer. This constellation is not so noticeable, unlike the older brother. No interesting objects are observed in it, and its brightest stars do not form a clear geometric figure.
The discovery of the Small Lion was made by Jan Hevelius in 1610. For the first time, he placed the constellation in his atlas “Uranography”. Later astronomer Francis Bailey, pointing to the bright stars of the Small Lion, noted only the second in brightness, completely forgetting about the first.
Conclusion
The constellation of Lions is two constellations located nearby. In the Northern Hemisphere, they can be seen almost always, although they are especially visible in the spring. On celestial atlases, astronomers placed them side by side, since it was believed that the Small Lion in its influence should be similar to the Big Lion.