Regulus

This month look for the star Regulus. Regulus is the lucida of the constellation of Leo the Lion and its name is Latin for, “Little King”. Because of its location within the constellation, the star represents the heart of Leo the Lion. The star is the 25th brightest star in the heavens and 77 light years away. If you were born in 1936, then Regulus is your birthday star this year since the light you see tonight left in the year you were born.

Regulus is larger than our sun and has a mass 3-1/2 times greater. Its extra mass causes the star to consume its supply of hydrogen at a faster rate than the sun. As a result, Regulus shines 240 times brighter than our sun. If viewed from Regulus, our sun would be so dim that we could not see it without the aid of a telescope. However, Regulus is easily seen in town. Regulus has a faint companion star that orbits it in a 130,000 year long orbit. This faint star is actually two stars in orbit around each other. It only takes this pair 1,000 years to complete one orbit around each other.

The constellation of Leo passes overhead at 9:00 PM in early April and 8:00 PM in late April. When you see Leo, you will probably first notice its backwards question mark of stars. The question mark, or sickle of Leo, consists of six stars and opens towards the west. The question mark represents the head and neck of Leo, with Leo’s head looking to the west. The bottom star of this question mark is Regulus. East of the sickle of Leo are his hind quarters and it is represented by three stars forming a triangle pointing east. The moon is a convenient guide to Leo on the 21st when it will be directly beneath the constellation.