Leo Minor

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Leo minor

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Abbreviation

LMi

Genitive

Leonis Minoris

Symbology

the Small Lion

Right ascension

10 h

Declination

35°

Area

List of constellations by area>Ranked 64th

Number of stars
(magnitude < 3)

Brightest star

46 LMi (Praecipua)
(Apparent magnitude>App. magnitude 3.83)

Meteor showers

Bordering
constellations

Visible at latitudes between +90° and −45°
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of April

Leo Minor (Latin for Smaller Lion) is a rather dim constellation that can barely be recognized as a triangle and lies between the easily discerned constellations Ursa Major and Leo. In contrast to Leo it does not belong to the ancient list of 48 constellations drawn up by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, but was instead created by Johannes Hevelius in 1687.

Contents

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 History
4 Stars
5 External links

Notable features

There is little to see for owners of small telescopes. There is only one star brighter than 4m:

46 LMi (Praecipua): an almost (but not quite) giant star of spectral class K0 which lies at a distance of approximately 98 light-years and sports an apparent brightness of 3.83m. Praecipua does not have a Bayer designation, making Leo Minor the only constellation whose brightest star does not have one.
β LMi: strangely enough this giant star of spectral class G8 is the only star with a Bayer designation, and with its apparent magnitude of 4.21m it is not even the brightest star of Leo Minor.
R LMi: the brightness of this cool long-period variable star (a Mira variable) varies between 6.3m and 13.2m during a period of 372.19 days.

Notable deep sky objects

Leo Minor does not contain any notable deep sky objects. The brightest one is NGC 3003, a galaxy with an apparent brightness of 11.7m and an angular size of 5.9 arcminutes. It is seen almost edge-on.

History

Being a rather new constellation there is no real mythology attached to it. It was created by Johannes Hevelius in 1687.

Stars

Stars with proper names:

* (46 LMi) 3.83 Praecipua [Praecipula]

*: < stella præcipula The principal star (of Leo minor)

Stars with Bayer designations:

* (31/β LMi) 4.20

Stars with Flamsteed designations:

:7 LMi 5.87; 8 LMi 5.39; 9 LMi 6.19; 10 LMi 4.54; 11 LMi 5.40; 13 LMi 6.12; 14 LMi 6.81; 15 LMi 5.08; 16 LMi 6.64; 18 LMi 6.55; 19 LMi 5.11; 20 LMi 5.37; 21 LMi 4.49; 22 LMi 6.47; 23 LMi 5.49; 24 LMi 6.46; 27 LMi 5.89; 28 LMi 5.52; 29 LMi 6.49; 30 LMi 4.72; 32 LMi 5.79; 33 LMi 5.90; 34 LMi 5.57; 35 LMi 6.29; 36 LMi 6.42; 37 LMi 4.68; 38 LMi 5.84; 40 LMi 5.51; 41 LMi 5.08; 42 LMi 5.36; 43 LMi 6.15; 44 LMi 6.05; 47 LMi 5.73; 48 LMi 6.19; 50 LMi 6.36; 51 LMi 7.80; 52 LMi 6.86

Constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 1690 text Firmamentum Sobiescianum

Obsolete Constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 1690 text Firmamentum Sobiescianum

Cerberus | Mons Maenalus | Triangulum Minor

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[Special]

[The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Leo Minor]

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