The Greeks associated Leo with the Nemean lion, the beast defeated by Heracles during the first of his twelve labours. Regulus A has a right ascension of 10h 08m 22.311s and a declination of +11 58 01.95. NGC 3626 is a medium-tightness spiral galaxy in Leo. Academic Urology & Urogynecology - Yelp Algieba (Gamma Leonis) lies on the lions neck, even though its name means the forehead. Zosma (Delta Leonis) marks the lions rump. Both phrases mean Lions Heart. Play Some Golf at the Wigwam Resort. 2.56), Epsilon Leonis (mag. Regulus' location is: One of the earliest references to Regulus was in ancient Persia, around 3000 B.C. Merak and Dubhe, the outer stars of the Big Dippers bowl, also point in the general direction of the constellation Leo. It has a surface temperature of 4,885 Kelvin (8,333 F or 4,612 C), and it shines at a magnitude of 8.1. 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. Exopaedia :: Regulus Its brightness is 288 times that of the Sun. Regulus, or Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in Leo onstellation (magnitude 1.40). Regulus A is only a few million years old. These include the Messier 96 Group (the Leo I Group) with member galaxies Messier 95, Messier 96, and Messier 105, and the Messier 66 Group (the Leo Triplet), which consists of the galaxies Messier 65, Messier 66, and NGC 3628. Seven other stars which have a Bayer designation are less than 0.9 from the ecliptic (perfected, mean plane of earth's orbit and mean apparent path of the sun) the next brightest of which is (Delta) Geminorum, of magnitude +3.53. Another, perhaps even more striking, feature of Messier 95 is its blazing golden core. The distances between B and C ranged from 4.0 to 2.5 arc seconds between 1867 and 1943. Regulus B is much dimmer, having only 0.50 solar luminosities, and an average temperature of around 4.885 Kelvin. However, although it looks like one star to the eye, its actually four stars. It is a bluish star, and it can be seen all around the globe. The name Regulus is from the diminutive form of the Latin rex, meaning little king. A daily update by email. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[22] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Regulus for this star. Leo Constellation for Kids. Facts, Myth, and photos. - Little Astronomy Stewart, Suzy. Regulus in Leo. The main component in the Regulus A system is orbited by a companion with at least 0.3 solar masses. The lion lived in a cave in Nemea, a town located to the south-west of Corinth. In Chinese astronomy, Regulus is part of the Xuanyuan asterism, which consists of about 17 stars, among them 10 Ursae Majoris, Alpha Lyncis, 38 Lyncis, Kappa Leonis, Alterf (Lambda Leonis), Epsilon Leonis, Rasalas (Mu Leonis), Adhafera (Zeta Leonis), Eta Leonis, Algieba (Gamma Leonis), Subra (Omicron Leonis), and Rho Leonis. With a visual magnitude of 1.35, Regulus A is responsible for the star systems brightness and bluish colour. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with all the other constellations of the zodiac. While Regulus, like the sun, fuses hydrogen to helium in its center, it is more massive than the sun and therefore hotter and brighter. [4] The sun was then surrounded by four bright stars at the beginning of every season. Its estimated age is 162 million years. Regulus star is also known as Basiliskos, Cor Leonis (Lions Heart), Qalb al-Asad and Rex. Messier 95 is a barred spiral galaxy in Leo. The Behenian fixed stars are a selection of fifteen stars considered especially useful for magical applications in the medieval astrology of Europe and the Arab world. DSS is one of the programs of STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute). Like Regulus, Denebola is a rapid rotator, which results in an oblate shape of the star, with a bulge at the equator. Regulus B and Regulus C share a common proper motion. The heliacal rising of Regulus (rising just before the dawn after a period of invisibility) occurs in early September. Alpha Leonis is the closest bright star to the ecliptic. NGC 3607 is a spiral galaxy in Leo. 5-star recommended Tempe escape room, perfect for a night out, family bonding, date night, celebrations like birthday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace, SpaceX Dragon debris lights up sky in bright fireball over western US during reentry (video), SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket aborts triple satellite launch at last minute. Regulus, Alpha Leonis ( Leo), is the primary component in a multiple-star system located 79.3 light-years away in the constellation Leo. It has a visual magnitude of 10.8 and is a member of the Leo II Group (NGC 3607 Group) of galaxies. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.35 and lies at a distance of 79.3 light years, or 24.3 parsecs, from Earth. With a surface temperature of 11,668 K, it shines with 316.2 solar luminosities. It has a mass of 3.8 solar masses and is an extremely fast spinner, with a rotational velocity of 347 km/s. It exhibits an excess emission of infrared, which indicates the presence of a circumstellar disk of dust. 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.". The star Spica - aka Alpha Virginis - is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation of Leo and Arcturus the brightest in the constellation of Botes, so you could argue Sirius's younger brother was twice as bright. The Spring Triangle and the Diamond of Virgo, image: Stellarium. The stars projected rotational velocity is 128 km/s. Icarus was discovered in 2018 by a team of astronomers who were studying the multiply lensed supernova SN Refsdal with the Hubble Space Telescope. The Chinese knew Regulus as the Fourteenth Star of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor (). Venus last occulted Regulus on July 7, 1959. Charles Messier discovered it in 1780. While it appears relatively dim to the unaided eye, the star is 5,600 times more luminous than the Sun and has an absolute magnitude of -5.60. He began his 1st comet hunting program in 1975 and found his 1st comet in 1978, after 1700 hours of searching. Filter by rating. This means that it completes a rotation every 15.9 hours and, as a result, its shape has been distorted into an oblate spheroid, with the equatorial diameter 32 percent larger than the polar diameter. Leo Constellation | Facts, Information, Mythology, History & Definition [18] The star's surface at the equator rotates at about 320 kilometres per second (199 miles per second), or 96.5% of its critical angular velocity for break-up. Messier 65, Messier 66 and NGC 3628 form the famous Leo Triplet galaxy group. It contains 13 named stars. My latest is an analysis of the Njord Skadi myth, from Avalonia Books. 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. National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. This refers to the star that stands in the breast of the Lion: the King. I. It is sometimes known by its traditional name, Subra. [30], Although best seen in the evening in the northern hemisphere's late winter and spring, Regulus appears at some time of night throughout the year except for about a month (depending on ability to compensate for the sun's glare, ideally done so in twilight) on either side of August 2224, when the Sun is too close. It rose above the horizon as the sun set, stayed up all night long, and reached its highest point due south (as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) at local midnight. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window), Apollo Soranus: the wolf, the sun, and thesacrifice, Aldebaran: the Bulls Eye WE ARE STAR STUFF, Spica: the Wheat Sheaf We Are Star Stuff. Persian mythology: Regulus is one of 4 royal stars. It is classified as a Cepheid variable, changing by an amplitude of 0.3 magnitude every few days. The text dealt with astrology and the supposed effect of events in the sky on humanity. It is emitting polarized light because of this. (The sun's rotation is about 4,500 mph or 7,242 kph.) Visitor Centers. Denebola exhibits variations in luminosity of 0.025 magnitudes about ten times a day. It has the stellar classification A2 V and a mass 2.5 times that of the Sun. It is the object within the Regulus system that can be seen with the naked eye. The Babylonians also recorded details of Regulus, the bright star within Leo, as The Great Lion constellation. Regulus is the dot of the question mark. Regulus is the dot of the question mark. The easiest way to spot the constellation Leo in the sky is to look for the Sickle, shaped like a backwards question mark. The star was also famously mentioned in an episode of The Outer Limits. Variations in the spin of the star mean there is probably a white dwarf, or dead star, lurking in the vicinity of Regulus, the astronomers argued in 2008. Astrophotographer John Chumack sent in a photo of Mars (red), Regulus (blue star) and the waning crescent moon in a triangle over his backyard observatory in Dayton, OH. Regulus is part of a relatively bright asterism known as the Sickle of Leo, which outlines the celestial lions head, mane, and shoulders. "A companion may be a low mass white dwarf or main sequence star," a preprint version of the research paper read. 3.52), and Rho Leonis (mag. They are located at an angular distance of 177 arc seconds from Regulus A. Leo constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. And Regulus is not the only star with a fast spin. Leonis (Latinized to Alpha Leonis) is the star system's Bayer designation. Leo is one of the 15 equatorial constellations. This is interesting because Avatar also stars Zoe Saldana, a sirian starseed as the main character. The Planets. Among the odd effects on the star: Regulus is much hotter at its poles (27,212 F, or 15,100 C) than its equator (18,032 F or 10,000 C). These are minor objects in the inner Solar System. So Regulus is visible at some time of night throughout the year, except for about a month on either side of August 22. Under modern classifications, Regulus is considered a blue-white "B" star that lies on the main sequence of stellar evolution. The star has an optical companion, 35 Leonis, which has an apparent magnitude of 5.90. In 1978, Don was one of the independent inventors of the Messier Marathon, an attempt to find and view all 110 galaxies, clusters, and nebulae in one night. The galaxy lies in the vicinity of the bright star Delta Leonis (Zosma). It is between 390 and 490 light years distant from the Sun. Sorting Astronomical Bodies Quiz - Constellations, Asterisms and Stars Regulus A was long thought to be fairly young, only 50 100 million years old, calculated by comparing its temperature, luminosity, and mass. (In Arabic, Qalb al-Asad, anglicized to Kabelaced.) M65 does not contain much dust and gas and there isnt much star formation occurring in it. A planet was discovered in the orbit of the primary star in November 2009. They are dimmer main sequence stars with an apparent magnitude of 8.14 and 13.5. This occurs in spates every 9.3 years, due to lunar precession. The spiral arms form an almost perfect circle around the galactic centre before they spread out, creating a mane-like effect of which any lion would be proud. It would be another 40 years before anyone viewed it visually. Some Renaissance astrologers called it the Royal Star. It can also be occulted by Mercury and Venus, but this only happens rarely. Regulus A is a spectroscopic binary star (blue-white main-sequence star) and its companion star is believed to be a white dwarf. The star exhibits variations in brightness over a period of 649 days. History and Mythology. The galaxy can be found below the bright star Theta Leonis. The location of Regulus (Alpha Leonis), image: Stellarium. Earendel is almost twice as distant, lying 28 billion light-years away. Wolf 359 is a red dwarf with the stellar classification M6.5Ve. [23], The Regulus system as a whole is the twenty-first brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of +1.35. The galaxy is classified as a double-barred spiral with a small inner bulge through the centre along with an outer bulge. It is located at 79 light-years from us. Regulus B is a K2V star and the companion is believed to be a red dwarf of the spectral type M4V. Native Americans have two general Ursa Major myths. [32], For Earth observers, the heliacal rising (pre-sunrise appearance) of Regulus occurs late in the first week of September, or in the second week. The Arabic name for the star is Qalb al-Asad, which means the heart of the lion.. NY 10036. Another bright star, Denebola (Beta Leonis) marks the tip of the lions tail. Both Eratosthenes and Hyginus wrote that the lion was placed among the constellations because it was the king of beasts. Regulus appears below the Lions head and shoulders and marks its heart. Eta Leonis is white supergiant belonging to the spectral class A0 Ib. The star is also one of the vertices of the Spring Triangle, a conspicuous asterism visible in the evening sky during the northern hemisphere spring. Mira variables are pulsating variable stars that are in the late stage of evolution, very red in colour, and with pulsation periods longer than 100 days. . If you like the image at the top, click here. 2.98), Chertan (Theta Leo, mag. The last occultation of Regulus by a planet was on July 7, 1959, by Venus. The galaxy Messier 95 stands boldly face-on, offering an ideal view of its spiral structure. Astronomers have concluded that these stars are zooming around a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 200 million Suns! It has an apparent magnitude of 1.35 and is not actually a single star, but a multiple star system. Except that he did throw his lot in with Voldemort, which doesn't strike us as particularly clever. Regulus star is also known as Basiliskos, Cor Leonis (Lion's Heart), Qalb al-Asad and Rex. The 2018 Gaia data release 2 revealed it to be a background object, not physically related to the Regulus system. Gamma Leonis is a double star in Leo. Regulus B and C are the other pair of stars in the system. As a result of Regulus fast rotation, the stars shape has been distorted into a highly oblate spheroid. Regulus was seen as the main star because it was in the constellation of Leo, giving it the power of the lion, signifying the strength of kings with large implications. It has an estimated age of at least a billion years. Regulus, in a horoscope or predictive chart, signifies good fortune, pride, royalty, and success. 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. (The Persians called it first Venant and then Miyan (the center). Other stars that belong to this association are Alpha Pictoris in the constellation Pictor, Beta Canis Minoris in the constellation Canis Minor, and the stars in the open cluster IC 2391, also known as the Omicron Velorum Cluster, located in the constellation Vela. In late February, Regulus is visible throughout the night. According to the first one, the constellation represents seven brothers and their sister who fled to the sky to escape a pursuer. Hubble telescope eyes galactic site of distant star explosion (video), Europe's JUICE Jupiter probe has an antenna glitch in deep space, Your monthly guide to stargazing & space science, Subscribe for just 1 per issue with our Spring Savings, Issues delivered straight to your door or device, Right ascension: 10 hours 8 minutes 22.3 seconds, Declination: +11 degrees 58 minutes 2 seconds. Your submission has been received! It is the nearest group containing both bright spirals and a bright elliptical galaxy (Messier 105). The primary star of Regulus A is a young star, only a few million years old, and has 3.5 times the mass of the Sun. Another mystery is the source of its extremely rapid spin and strange motion. The name Denebola comes from the Arabic anab al-asad, which means the lions tail.. Regulus: the Lion's Heart | We Are Star Stuff "The picture makes me wonder what it would be like to be in a solar system with this type of star.". Reblogged this on Die Goldene Landschaft. 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 . Zeta Leonis is a giant star belonging to the spectral class F0 III. Mass transfer from the white dwarf progenitor onto Regulus accounts for any discrepancies between the stars age and its mass, temperature, and luminosity. It has a visual magnitude of 3.856 and is approximately 5,000 light years distant. The main star in Leo, Regulus, was associated with kings. With five stars brighter than magnitude 3.0, it is easy to spot, even from areas with some light pollution. 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. 4 stars. New York, Regulus sits at the base of the Sickle, marking the lions heart. Regulus lies around 79.3 light years, or 24.3 parsecs, from Earth in the constellation of Leo. Together, the Regulus BC pair can be seen in small telescopes. Sigma Leonis is a blue-white star belonging to the spectral class B9.5Vs. A and BC share a common proper motion and are thought to orbit each other[5] taking several million years. The brightest star in. 2.08), Denebola (Beta Leo, mag. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The flares from the star emit strong bursts of gamma rays and X-ray radiation. The cloud was discovered by radio astronomers in 1983. A Type Ia supernova, SN 1998bu, was discovered in M96 in May 1998. Behenian fixed star - Wikipedia Regulus is about 70 light-years away from Earth, making it the closest star of this type to our planet, according to astronomer David Darling. [16] This results in so-called gravity darkening: the photosphere at Regulus' poles is considerably hotter, and five times brighter per unit surface area, than its equatorial region. Leo belongs to the Zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. Christians in the Middle Ages sometimes referred to it as one of Daniels lions. Leo is the 12th largest constellation in size, occupying an area of 947 square degrees. The neighboring constellations are Cancer, Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor, Lynx, Sextans, Ursa Major and Virgo. Regulus spins on its axis once every 16 hours. 3.9). It set upon the local inhabitants and could not be defeated because it had impenetrable skin. Its traditional name (Regulus) means "the little king". They are main sequence stars belonging to the spectral classes K1-2 V and M5 V, making Regulus B an orange dwarf and Regulus C a red dwarf. Icarus is a blue supergiant of the spectral type B, located approximately 14.4 billion light-years from Earth. [citation needed], The idea there existed four royal stars of Persia was analysed in a 1945 article in Popular Astronomy, where the idea was criticized as largely a relatively modern invention, and/or a misunderstanding of the original source texts.[1]. The stars Altair and Achernar are also fast spinners with flattened, oblate shapes. The two stars complete an orbit around their common centre of mass every 40 days or so. 2.113), Zosma (Delta Leo, mag. With an effective temperature of 4,885 K, it is half as luminous as the Sun. Regulus is easy to find and identify because it is part of a prominent asterism known as the Sickle of Leo. Lambda Leonis is a K5-class star, about 336 light years from the Sun. Bottom line: Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion, is associated with the arrival of spring, and is prominent in May skies. Ultraviolet emissions from the galaxys central region suggest that it has a supermassive black hole at its core. Zosma, Delta Leonis, is another rapid rotator in Leo, with a projected rotational velocity of 180 km/s. Regulus, Alpha Leonis, Leo, 32 Leonis, HR 3982, HIP 49669, FK5 380, GJ 9316, GCTP 2384.00, 79.3 0.7 light-years (24.3 0.2 parsecs), Leo A, HD 87901, SAO 98967, LTT 12716, BD+122149, TYC 833-1381-1, GC 13926, GCRV 6417, 79.02 0.05 light-years (24.23 0.02 parsecs), Leo B/C, HD 87884, SAO 98966, LTT 12714, BD+122147, TYC 833-134-1, GC 13922, GCRV 6416, PPM 127133, Gaia DR2 3880785530720066176, Gaia DR1 3880785526425032832. Regulus is the nearest first-magnitude star to the ecliptic, located only 0.465 degrees north of it. Regulus Star Facts & Features About The Little King. [4] Regulus, Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in Leo and the 22nd brightest star in the sky. Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce . Stewart, Suzy. This is not only the best golf resort in the area, but actually one the best in the country. It is spinning extremely rapidly, with a rotation period of only 15.9 hours, which causes it to have a highly oblate shape. The Leo Constellation | Pictures, Facts, and Brightest Stars It was discovered by the German astronomer Albert Marth on April 5, 1864. 12/13/2022. The star can easily be seen without binoculars. The royal stars are mentioned in the Bundahishn, a collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology. 166 Rhodope, an asteroid about 54.6 km in size, occulted the star on October 19, 2005. Wigwam Resort Golf Course. The 2005 study examined the effects of the rotation for the first time using the CHARA telescope array on top of Mount Wilson in California. Mu Leonis belongs to the spectral class K3. It has 3 championship courses, of which 2 were designed by the famous architect . It has 214% of the solar radius and is about 15 times more luminous than the Sun. When Aldebaran was the star of the spring equinox, Regulus would have been the summer solstice star. 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. They added, however, that they couldn't see anything in the system that would cause it to move faster. The planet Venus passes the star around this time every eight years. Leo is also home to the red dwarf Wolf 359, one of the nearest stars to the Sun at a distance of 7.86 light years, the bright variable red giant star R Leonis, Icarus (MACS J1149 LS1), one of the most distant stars discovered to date, and the carbon star CW Leonis, the brightest star in the infrared N-band (10 m). Regulus, also known as Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and the 21st brightest star in the night sky. ", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. It was the Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus who translated these names into Latin as Regulus. Messier 105 is an elliptical galaxy in Leo. Messier 66 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in Leo. The galaxy resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inwards towards the nucleus. 3.33), Eta Leonis (mag. Messier 65 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in Leo. The black hole at the centre of the galaxy is believed to have a mass of 9.7 billion solar masses. Every 8 years, Venus passes very near the star system around or a few days before the heliacal rising, as on 5 September 2022 (the superior conjunction of Venus happens about two days earlier with each turn of its 8-year cycle, so as this cycle continues Venus will more definitely pass Regulus before the star's heliacal rising). The stars traditional name, Alterf, comes from the Arabic a-arf, which means the view (of the lion).. The brightest star in Leo is Regulus, Alpha Leonis, with an apparent magnitude of 1.35. It has 11 stars with known planets. 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 has a mass 3.8 times that of the Sun and a radius 4.35 times solar. Great. Differential bending of light was measured to be consistent with general relativity. In about 600 million years, it will become a red giant. His small book on world star lore, Constellations, was published by Running Press. In Arabia, Regulus was referred to as Malikiyy, "the kingly one", according to stellar nomenclature expert Richard Hinckley Allen. For this reason, it is regularly occulted by the Moon and, rarely, by Mercury and Venus. Start your review of Academic Urology & Urogynecology. It can show you might rank high in urban affairs, land management, etc. Because Regulus was the most influential of the royal stars, events that took place while Regulus was in dominance were amplified and grave, foreshadowing destruction, depending on what planet or planets might be in conjunction with the star. Stewart, Suzy. [28] Regulus was occulted by the asteroid 163 Erigone in the early morning of March 20, 2014. He ultimately discovered a total of 12 comets, which bear his name. It might appear featureless and unexciting at first glance, but NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observations of this elliptical galaxy known as Messier 105 show that the stars near the galaxys centre are moving very rapidly. Regulus, Al Jabbah, and Algieba, together with the fainter stars Leo (Adhafera), Leo (Ras Elased Borealis), and Leo (Ras Elased Australis), constitute the sickle. Regulus is not a binary star for once, although there is a binary nearby, and possibly a white dwarf. The star has an estimated age of less than a billion years. The entire constellation is visible from locations north of the latitude 65 S. The 10 brightest stars in Leo are Regulus (Alpha Leo, mag. Regulus - Alpha Leonis - Constellation Guide Cor Caroli is another name for Regulus. Regulus is the bright star that makes the point of the question mark. However, it would have taken at least a billion years for the white dwarf to form. The companion is believed to be a white dwarf. Draco) or exist in the real world (e.g. It is the 22nd brightest star, although the 21st, Alpha Centauri, is not much brighter than it is. It was discovered by Pierre Mchain on March 20, 1781 and then included in Messiers catalogue a few days later. The central region of M95 has a ring-shaped starburst region around the core with a diameter spanning about 2,000 light years. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. CW Leonis is a carbon star embedded in a thick envelope of dust. In the northern hemisphere, Regulus is best seen in the evening in the late winter and spring. Regulus B and Regulus C take about 600 years to complete an orbit around a common centre of mass. It is approximately 70 million light years distant. He used the lions claws to cut off its pelt, and then wore the pelt as a cloak, complete with the lions head. The galaxy belongs to the NGC 3607 Group, one of the many Leo II groups of galaxies. The equatorial diameter of Regulus is 32 percent larger than its polar diameter. Our Sun in comparison has an average temperature of 5.778 Kelvin. "There's nothing that we know of that can speed this star up," said Georgia State University astronomer Hal McAlister, who led the study of the star at the university's Center for High Angular Resolution (CHARA), in an interview at the time. The next brightest star to the ecliptic is Wasat, Delta Geminorum, with a visual magnitude of 3.53. Leo and Regulus, picture from Nasa. Regulus Starseeds. Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Ho et al. Leo 1 is difficult to see due to its proximity to Regulus. It has a visual magnitude varying from 4.4 to 11.3 with a period of 312 days and is classified as a Mira variable. The Constellation Leo Myth - A Complete Explanation - Gods and Monsters