Leo is a prominent sight for stargazers, marking the beginning of spring, in March. Its famous sickle, punctuated by the bright star Regulus, draws many a beginning stargazer’s eyes, inviting deeper looks into some of Leo’s celestial delights, including a great double star and a famous galactic trio.

Leo’s distinctive forward sickle, or “reverse question mark,” is easy to spot as it climbs the skies in the southeast after sunset. If you are having a difficult time, find the Big Dipper, and imagine someone poked a hole in the bottom. The water would fall on Regulus, which is the bright “period” in the reverse question mark. Trailing them is a trio of stars forming an isosceles triangle. Connecting these two patterns together forms the constellation of Leo the Lion, with the forward-facing sickle being the lion’s head and mane, and the rear triangle its hindquarters. Can you see this mighty feline? It might help to imagine Leo proudly sitting up and staring straight ahead, like a celestial Sphinx.

Leo can even help you know how dark your sky is! Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation. If you peer deeper into Leo with a small telescope or binoculars, you’ll find a notable double star! Look in the sickle of Leo the slightly dimmer Algieba - also called Gamma Leonis. This star splits into two bright yellow stars with even a small magnification - you can make this “split” with binoculars, but it’s more apparent with a telescope. Compare the color and intensity of these two stars - do you notice any differences? There are other multiple star systems in Leo. What do you see?

One of the most famous sights in Leo is the “Leo Triplet.” These three galaxies are gravitationally bound to one another, around 30 million light years away! They are much dimmer. Two of the three can be seen on a dark night in Moab with a telescope. To see the third, you may want to view from outside the city to avoid lights. Use an eyepiece with a wide field of view to see all three galaxies at once! Look below the star Chertan to find these galaxies. Compare the appearance of each galaxy. While they are all spiral galaxies, do they all look like spiral galaxies to you? Each one is tilted at different angles to our point of view! Happy observing!