WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Astro Minute: Spring's Coming in Like a Lion

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

Learn how to spot spring's harbinger, Leo the Lion, in this week's night sky!

Welcome to the Astro Minute, where we're exploring the universe 60 seconds at a time. I'm Lauren Smith, and today we're hunting for Leo the Lion. Whether spring comes in like a lion or a lamb, its evening sky is always heralded by a lion named Leo. Easily recognizable and actually looking somewhat like its name, Leo the Lion is a prominent constellation in the springtime night sky. To find him, follow the Big Dipper's pointer stars backwards across the sky to an asterism shaped like a backwards question mark, which is the lion's head. The point of the question mark, the lion's heart, is the bright star Regulus.

Behind Regulus is the lion's body and his tail, the bright star Denebula. Leo might appear to be a tame lion, but telescopes tell a far different story. Hundreds of magnificent galaxies containing billions of stars fill the sky around the lion, and some are bright enough to find with binoculars. That's your astro minute.