The Northern
Hemisphere
Leo(theLion)takesprideofplaceinthenightsky,cuttinga regalfigureas
its leading star – hot, blue Regulus – shines at magnitude 1.36, an unmissable
sight. Galaxies are also in abundance here – from the spiral arms of Messier
95 to the featureless, yet prominent form of Messier 105 – as well as a
selection of binary stars, including Rho Leonis.
Leo is bordered by Cancer, Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor,
Lynx, Sextans, Ursa Major and Virgo, the latter of which also offers a
selection of galaxies to be enjoyed. If your interests lie in tracking down
nebulae and star clusters, head over to the Great Bear for the Owl Nebula,
or seek out the Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe, in the Crab.
Using the sky chart
This chart is for use at 22:00 (GMT)
mid-month and is set for 52° latitude.
Hold the chart above your
head with the bottom of the
page in front of you.
Face south and notice
that north on the chart
isbehind you.
The constellations on the chart
should now match what you
seeinthesky.
01
02
03
Sirius(-1.4)
-0.5 to 0.0
0.0 to 0.5
0.5 to 1.0
1.0 to 1.5
1.5 to 2.0
2.0 to 2.5
2.5 to 3.0
3.0 to 3.5
3.5 to 4.0
4.0 to 4.5
Fa in te r
Variable star
Magnitudes
O-B
A
F
G
K
M
Openstarclusters
Globular starclusters
Brightdiffusenebulae
Planetarynebulae
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies
Observer’snote:
Thenightskyasitappears
on 17 March 2020 at
approximately22:00(GMT)
NE
EAST
SE
ECLIPTIC
AN
VENATICICANES
BERENICESCOMA
BOREALISCORONA
COR
VUS
CRATER
CYGNUS
DRACO
ERCULESH
HY
MINL
LY R A
CAPUTSERPENS
SEXTAN
URSA
VIRGO
Arcturus
enebD
Regul
Vega
Spica
BOOTES
M106
M104
M51
M3
M101
M5
M13
M92
M57
Mar 11
Spectral types
STARGAZER
Orion fades to the southwest while Leo
climbs from the east