In Arabia, Regulus was referred to as Malikiyy, "the kingly one", according to stellar nomenclature expert Richard Hinckley Allen. In medieval astrology, Regulus was one of the 15 Behenian fixed stars, believed to hold special astrological power. More than 80% of them are Population II stars, more than a billion years old. It contains a nuclear star-forming ring, almost 2000 light-years across, where a large proportion of the galaxys star formation takes place. Some Renaissance astrologers called it the Royal Star. The main star in Leo, Regulus, was associated with kings. Another mystery is the source of its extremely rapid spin and strange motion. It has a visual magnitude of 11.4 and is approximately 38 million light years distant. The lion lived in a cave in Nemea, a town located to the south-west of Corinth. Because Regulus can stray within the ecliptic, or the path upon which the sun and planets travel, it is very occasionally eclipsed by one of the planets or an asteroid. Look through a small telescope using at least 50x magnification, and you can see Regulus as two objects separated by 177 arcseconds. Regulus is the only 1st magnitude star to sit almost squarely on the ecliptic, which marks the path of the sun, moon and planets across our sky. It has 11 stars with known planets. In English, the constellation is known as the Lion. Now let's take a look at some of the best things to do in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Pingback: Antares: the scorpions heart |, Pingback: Aldebaran: the Bulls Eye WE ARE STAR STUFF, Pingback: Spica: the Wheat Sheaf We Are Star Stuff. This fast rotation causes Regulus A to bulge at its equator, so it appears oblate, or egg-shaped. [18], The primary of Regulus A has about 3.8 times the Sun's mass. Leo represents the lion and is usually associated with the Nemean lion in Greek mythology. Along with the brighter Vega, Altair, and Achernar, Regulus is one of the brightest and best-known examples of gravity darkening. Regulus is the star at the bottom. It can be located using the stars of the Big Dipper; Megrez and Phecda, the two inner stars of the Dippers bowl, point the way to the asterism. Regulus A was long thought to be fairly young, only 50 100 million years old, calculated by comparing its temperature, luminosity, and mass. It was discovered by Pierre Mchain on March 20, 1781 and then included in Messiers catalogue a few days later. Copernicus called it the Little King, after the Greek Basiliokos. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, There is a great deal of mythology associated with Leo, perhaps the most common tale being that Leo was the Nemean Lion of the Hercules story. Around February 18, Regulus was opposite the sun. Its traditional name (Regulus) means "the little king". The system lies approximately 79 light years from the Sun. The co-moving distance of 14.4 billion ly does not correspond to the lookback time because it takes into account the expansion of the universe in the time that it took for the stars light to reach us. In Greek mythology, The Greeks associated Constellation Leo with the Nemean Lion. Experience the game! Something went wrong while submitting the form. They have a combined apparent magnitude of 3.53. The star is approximately 247 light years distant from Earth. Regulus is the dot of the question mark. The Washington Double Star Catalog", Bright Star Regulus near the Leo I Dwarf Galaxy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Regulus&oldid=1149452547, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 10:00. Alpha Leonis is the closest bright star to the ecliptic. Regulus is 0.465 degrees from the ecliptic,[25] the closest of the bright stars, and is often occulted by the Moon. Heracles is represented by the larger constellation Hercules. Regulus: The Kingly Star | Space Behenian fixed star - Wikipedia It is emitting polarized light because of this. Stretching across 947 square degrees of the sky, it is the third largest zodiac constellation (after Virgo and Aquarius) and the 12th largest of all constellations. Accessed 1 May, 2023. Aldebaran marked the vernal equinox and Antares marked the autumnal equinox, while Regulus marked the Summer Solstice and Fomalhaut the Winter Solstice. The two components in the Omicron Leonis system belong to the spectral classes F9III (a giant) and A5mV (a main sequence star). The light of the star took 9.34 billion years to reach Earth. [28] Regulus was occulted by the asteroid 163 Erigone in the early morning of March 20, 2014. Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. Its extended envelope is believed to have at least 1.4 solar masses of ejected material. Only Alpha Centauri in the constellation Centaurus and Barnards Star in Ophiuchus are closer. NGC 3384 belongs to the M96 Group (Leo I Group) of galaxies. Marissa B. Goodyear, AZ. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Regulus first received its name from the 16th-century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the encyclopedia added, "marking the fact that it had been regarded as one of the leading stars in the sky for some 2,000 years.". Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the lion, is a harbinger of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The equatorial diameter of Regulus is 32 percent larger than its polar diameter. It has a visual magnitude of 9.7 and is approximately 30.6 million light years distant from the Sun. The star can easily be seen without binoculars. Spica - Alpha Virginis - Constellation Guide The name Regulus means the little king or prince in Latin. These are the 22 stars with apparent magnitudes of less than +1.50. Christians in the Middle Ages sometimes referred to it as one of Daniels lions. This blog allows me to explore ideas and get reactions and suggestions from readers. The Leonids usually peak on November 17-18 every year and have a radiant near the bright star Gamma Leonis. Leo and Regulus, picture from Nasa. Academic Urology & Urogynecology - Yelp Because of its proximity to Earth, the star is often mentioned in works of fiction. 163 Erigone, a large, dark asteroid from the asteroid belt, about 73 km in size, occulted Regulus on March 20, 2014. Its traditional name, Al Minliar, comes from the Arabic Minkhir al-Asad, which means the muzzle of the lion. The star has the stellar classification K2III. There will be a series of 20 lunar occultations of Regulus from July 26, 2025, to December 27, 2026. The brighter giant is 180 times more luminous than the Sun and has an apparent magnitude of 2.28. Messier 66 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in Leo. The star has two known companions nearby, a set of binary stars, but observations in the past few years suggest there may be a white dwarf lurking close to Regulus as well. Regulus B and C are the other pair of stars in the system. The star was last occulted by Venus on July 7, 1959, and the next occultation, also by Venus, will not occur until October 1, 2044. Regulus lies around 79.3 light years, or 24.3 parsecs, from Earth in the constellation of Leo. This black hole releases huge amounts of energy as it consumes matter falling into it and causing the centre to shine far brighter than its surroundings. Like Regulus, Denebola is a rapid rotator, which results in an oblate shape of the star, with a bulge at the equator. The other name for Regulus is Cor Leonis, the Lions Heart. Fierce lion-headed deities, like Sekhmet whose breath formed the desert, and Tefnut who fled to the desert of Nubia in her rage, and the war-god Maahes, were associated both with scorching heat and protection of the pharaoh. Regulus B, meanwhile, has its own companion: Regulus C. At magnitude 13.5, its only visible with powerful telescopes. They are the only navigational stars in Leo. Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_stars&oldid=1121493956, Articles needing additional references from August 2008, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 November 2022, at 15:56. Due to the stars oblate shape, its poles are closer to the centre of mass and have a higher effective temperature and therefore brightness, while the equatorial region is cooler and less bright. It is a main sequence star with the stellar classification A3 V. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.113 and is approximately 35.9 light years distant from Earth. Bluish-white Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, lies high in the south, while another moderately bright star, Alphard, in the constellation Hydra, the Water Snake, is a bit below Regulus.. Sorting Astronomical Bodies Quiz - Constellations, Asterisms and Stars Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Regulus B is slightly hotter. Until the end of his life, in 2022, Don continued his visual comet hunting and Messier Marathons from Arizona, where he lived with his wife Michele. This occurs in spates every 9.3 years, due to lunar precession. Few of the Universes residents are as iconic as the spiral galaxy. The central region of M95 has a ring-shaped starburst region around the core with a diameter spanning about 2,000 light years. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.324 and is approximately 165 light years distant from the solar system. The poles are said to be gravity brightened, while the equator is gravity darkened. The poles of Regulus are five times brighter than the equator. The traditional name Regulus is Latin for ' prince ' or ' little king .'. 3.33), Eta Leonis (mag. The stars proximity to the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun across the sky) means that Regulus is frequently occulted by the Moon. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Wolf 359 is classified as a flare star, one that can undergo dramatic increases in luminosity for several minutes as a result of magnetic activity on its surface. Regulus D is a 12th magnitude companion at 212",[33] but is an unrelated background object. The staff is so caring and amazing. The star is suspected to be a part of a binary system. By the time of the Persian Empire (550 BC330 BC), Aldebaran watched the Eastern sky and was the dominant star in the Taurus constellation, Regulus watched the North and was the dominant star in the Leo constellation, Antares watched the West and was the alpha star in Scorpio, and Fomalhaut watched the Southern sky and was the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus (sharing the same longitude with the star Sadalmelik which is the predominant star in Aquarius). Gliese 436 is another red dwarf located relatively close to the Sun. Leo constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine. Astronomers from Babylon knew the star as Sharru (the King) and in Persia, Regulus was one of the four Royal Stars, along with Aldebaran in Taurus, Antares in Scorpius and Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus. It can be seen in the night sky throughout the year except for a month on either side of August 22, when the Sun comes too close to the star. Nevertheless, Messier 95 also makes for a spectacular image. The two stars have an orbital period of 500 years. Regulus: the Lion's Heart | We Are Star Stuff 2.56), Epsilon Leonis (mag. The Persians knew the constellation as Shir or Ser, Babylonians called it UR.GU.LA (the great lion), Syrians knew it as Aryo, and the Turks as Artan. The 2018 Gaia data release 2 revealed it to be a background object, not physically related to the Regulus system. The galaxy has a visual magnitude of 8.9 and is about 36 million light years distant. Beta Leonis, called Denebola, is at the opposite end of the constellation to Regulus. It has a visual magnitude of 10.67 and is 33.1 light years distant. It is the 22nd brightest star, although the 21st, Alpha Centauri, is not much brighter than it is. Leo is one of the largest northern constellations. Delta Leonis is slightly larger and hotter than the Sun. (CC BY 4.0). It was the most important of the Four Royal Stars of the Persians, which marked the seasons. Regulus lies only 0.46 degrees from the ecliptic, which is the Suns apparent path across the sky, through the zodiac constellations, and is regularly occulted by the Moon and very rarely by Mercury and Venus. Their name derives from Arabic bahman, "root," as each was considered a source of astrological power for one or more planets.Each is also connected with a gemstone and plant that would be used in rituals meant to draw the star's . Regulus in Leo. The two stars are separated by about 100 astronomical units and have an orbital period of 2,000 years. The Jupiter-Mars group: Regulus, Acturus, Altair, Antares If you have a Jupiter-Mars Star prominent on an angle, like your Ascendant or Midheaven, this gives you honour and skills with strategy. 35 Leonis is located 325.9 arc seconds away from Adhafera and it is only a line-of-sight companion, as it is only 100 light years distant from Earth. The star was first discovered in 1969 by the American astrophysicist Eric Brecklin and his team of astronomers. Each of the 15 stars was associated with a planet, a plant, and a gemstone, and the latter two were used in rituals to bring out the star's influence. In Persian astronomy, the sky was divided into four districts and each district was guarded by one of the four bright stars. The brighter of the pair is called Regulus A. Leo contains five Messier objects: Messier 65 (M65, NGC 3623), Messier 66 (M66, NGC 3627), Messier 95 (M95, NGC 3351), Messier 96 (M96, NGC 3368), and Messier 105 (M105, NGC 3379). Regulus can be used to find several bright galaxies that lie in the region of the sky between the Lions heart and the fainter Denebola, Beta Leonis, the star that marks the Lions tail. It is located at 79 light-years from us. The first is a K2V star, while the second is about M4V. Fittingly, King Richard I of England was also famously known as the Lionheart, or more commonly Couer de Lion in French. EarthSky | Aldebaran is Taurus the Bull's bloodshot eye Regulus is the dot of the question mark. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Space.com, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy and Rolling Stone. This sky map shows the location of brilliant planet Venus and the bright star Regulus in the pre-dawn sky on Oct. 3, 2012, as viewed from mid-northern latitudes. A constellation is a pattern of stars in a recognisable shape that is supposed to resemble an object, animal or person. [4] The constellations of the royal stars were said to be fixed because their positions were close to the four fixed points of the sun's path. Save. Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus gave the star its name, which was equivalent to Basiliskos (little king), used by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Regulus, designated as Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in Leo, and the 21 st brightest star in the night sky, having an apparent magnitude of 1.40. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. (The Persians called it first Venant and then Miyan (the center). The primary component in the system, the blue supergiant, has a companion located at an angular separation of 0.11 arc seconds. Leo Constellation: Origin, History and Facts | CosmoNova
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