Leo Triplet
Leo is best known for its bright stars, especially Regulus, its brilliant heart. But the lion also contains quite a few bright galaxies. Leading the list are three galaxies that form the Leo Triplet: M65, M66, and NGC 3628.
Leo is best known for its bright stars, especially Regulus, its brilliant heart. But the lion also contains quite a few bright galaxies. Leading the list are three galaxies that form the Leo Triplet: M65, M66, and NGC 3628.
The star Elnath represents the point of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull. It appears near the crescent Moon the next couple of nights, quite low in the early evening sky. It is above the Moon tonight, and to the lower right of the Moon tomorrow night.
Aquarius the water bearer is in the east-southeast before dawn. The planet Saturn is near the left edge of the constellation. The solar system’s second-largest planet looks like a bright star.
M13, the Hercules Cluster, is about 25,000 light-years away and contains several hundred thousand stars. It is low in the northeast at nightfall, along the line that connects the top two stars in the Keystone, a lopsided square that outlines the strongman’s torso.
Hercules the strongman is in the east and northeast at nightfall and swings high overhead during the night. Hercules is the Roman version of Heracles, a son of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods of Olympus.
Leo, the lion, is high in the south sky at nightfall. It consists of two patterns of stars. A backward question mark represents the lion’s head and mane, while a triangle of stars to the left forms the lion’s hindquarters and tail.
The planet the next few mornings. The planet is passing farthest from the Sun, and it looks like a fairly bright star. Tomorrow, it’s to the lower left of the Moon during twilight, with Mars and Saturn to the upper right of the Moon.
Mars stands close to the lower left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow. The planet looks like a fairly bright orange star. The planet Saturn is about the same distance to the upper right of the Moon.
The planet Saturn is in the dawn sky now. It looks like a bright golden star. Unlike a star, though, it doesn’t twinkle – its light holds steady. Tomorrow, it will stand close to the left of the Moon. The Moon will pass between Saturn and Mars the next morning.
Today is the date of Beltane, an ancient Celtic festival that was celebrated with bonfires. In Celtic culture, the date marked the beginning of summer, not the middle of spring as it does today. Some of Beltane’s traditions are preserved as May Day.