This month’s naked eye targets
If you can tear your eyes away from the glittering stars
of Orion, Leo and the sky around it has a lot to offer...
Regulus(AlphaLeonis)
At magnitude 1.35 Regulus is the
brightest star in Leo, but only
the 21st-brightest in the sky. This
blue-white star lies on the ecliptic
soisoftenjoinedintheskyby
planetsortheMoon.Itsname
means ‘Prince’ or ‘Little King’.The Beehive
Cluster (M44)
This third-magnitude open cluster
in Cancer is only 23 light years from
Earth,makingitoneoftheclosest
clusters to us. It's big and bright
enough to be seen easily with just
the naked eye. It is also known as
‘Praesepe’, Latin for manger.Denebola (Beta
Leonis)
The second-brightest
star in Leo, magnitude
2.1 Denebola is the
61st-brightest star in
thesky.Itisonly36
light years away and
is very young in stellar
termsatjust400
million years old.Messier 66
Thebrightestmemberofatrioofsmallgalaxiesknown
asthe‘LeoTriplet’,M66isaveryprettyspiralgalaxy
more than 37 million light years from Earth. Shining at
magnitude 9, you will only see it and its lovely spiral
arms through binoculars or a telescope.The Sickle
This striking asterism of six naked-eye stars
resemblesthesharpbladeofasickle,though
many observers think it looks more like a
reversequestionmarkoreventhehandleof
a coat hanger. The Moon and planets often
pass close to it during the year.Leo
Cancer
Sextans
Leo
Minor
Naked eye targets
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