1.1 KiB
| name | constellation | created_by | created_date | updated_by | updated_date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulus (α Leonis) | Leo | 8mag | 2022-01-21 17:00:00 | skybber | 2022-02-07 15:26:28.595677 |
the brightest star in the constellation. The 9-fold elongation of the front wheels of the Big Dipper will lead us to it in a southerly direction. Together with the stars Arcturus of Shepherd and Spica of Virgo, it forms a kind of spring triangle. The name comes from Latin and means "little king"; indeed, in ancient Babylon it always represented the star of the ruler. Sometimes we can also meet the name Cor Leonis - "heart of the lion". Regulus is also one of the four guardians of the sky, or even royal stars - they were the stars that marked the summer solstice point (Regulus), the spring point (Aldebaran), the winter solstice (Fomalhaut) and the autumn point (Antares) in the Persian Empire. These divided the sun's orbit - the ecliptic - and thus the year into four seasons. It is one of the few bright stars that lies near the ecliptic, exactly 1.5 degrees. That's why it's often occulted by the moon and sometimes a planet.