Constellation Leo

Emily LindenPaul Lim

Myth of Leo

• In Greek myth Leo is the lion Nemea, which Hercules was commanded to kill as the first of his twelve labors. Since the beast was invincible by arrow or club the contest was a test of physical strength and endurance. Hercules killed the animal by choking it with his bare hands and then wore its skin.

• Leo is hot and dry, associated with the full strength of the summer

• Is known for royalty, strength, and endurance

The Stars• Regulus: 79 light years from Earth• Denebola: 36 light years from Earth• Algieba: 130 light years from Earth• Zosma: 58.4 light years from Earth• Ras Elased: 247 light years from Earth• Adhafera: 274 light years from Earth• Rasalas: 133 light years from Earth• Coxa: 165 light years from Earth• Eta Leonis: 2,000 light years from Earth

About Leo

• It is about 13 billion years old, making it one of the oldest stars in the Galaxy

• The Leo Ring, a cloud of hydrogen and helium gas, is found in orbit of two galaxies found within this constellation

• Three galaxies that together form the Leo Triplet: M65, M66, and NGC 3628.

• NGC 3628 like our Milky Way, it's a spiral -- a pinwheel that spans at least a hundred thousand light-years. We see its edge so it looks like a streak of light with lanes of dark dust running down the middle

• The Leo Triplet is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.

GalaxyM65

Galaxy M66

Galaxy NGC 3628

Works Cited

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_(constellation)• http://www.skyscript.co.uk/leo.html• http://stardate.org/nightsky/constellations/leo