Constellation, Lion
Leo
The lion of the zodiac, easy to picture as a crouching beast. In Greek myth it is the lion of Nemea, killed by Heracles, and its heart is the bright star Regulus.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Leo rises at 3:18 AM, is highest at 10:06 AM (62° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 4:57 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Leo. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The Greeks called this constellation simply Leon, the lion. Eratosthenes and Hyginus said it was set in the sky because the lion is king of the beasts. In myth it is usually the lion of Nemea, a town south-west of Corinth. The beast lived in a cave with two mouths and preyed on the local people. Its hide could not be pierced, and arrows bounced off it. Heracles blocked one entrance, went in through the other and choked the lion with his bare arms. This was the first of his twelve labours. Afterwards he wore its skin as a cloak.
Six stars marking the lion’s head and chest form a hook-shaped pattern known as the Sickle. At its base lies Regulus, Latin for ‘little king’. Ptolemy called it Basiliskos, which means the same, and the Babylonians knew it as LUGAL, ‘king’. The Latin form first appeared in print in the early 16th century. Denebola, on the tip of the tail, comes from Arabic words for ‘the lion’s tail’. In China the Sickle was part of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Dragon.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Leo
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulus | α Leo | 1.36 | 79 light-years |
| Algieba | γ1 Leo | 2.01 | 130 light-years |
| Denebola | β Leo | 2.14 | 36 light-years |
| Zosma | δ Leo | 2.56 | 58 light-years |
| Ras Elased Australis | ε Leo | 2.97 | 247 light-years |
| Chertan | θ Leo | 3.33 | 165 light-years |
| Adhafera | ζ Leo | 3.43 | 274 light-years |
| η Leo | η Leo | 3.48 | 1,269 light-years |
| Subra | ο Leo | 3.52 | 130 light-years |
| Shaomin | ρ Leo | 3.84 | unknown |
Facts
| Area | about 949 square degrees (11 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Leo |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | One of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 32 |
| Centre (J2000) | 10.7 h, 13° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC2903 | Galaxy | 8.9 |
| M66 | Galaxy | 8.9 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.