Leo (LEE-oh) is the fifth
sign of the Zodiac for
birthdates from 23 July to 22 August. Remember that signs of the Zodiac
are "Sun signs," meaning that they appear in the day sky on your birthdate
(the Sun is "in" Leo), therefore Leo is not visible in the late-July
through late-August night skies. Beginning in February (six months after
August), Leo is visible at night for a six-month period ending in July.
Leo looks like a backwards question mark followed by a smaller triangle
(FCPS Starfinder, No. 5,
Southern Sky). Find Leo in the real sky by following the "Pointer
Stars" (Merak and Dubhe) of the Big Dipper in the opposite direction from
Polaris, the Pole Star.
The brightest star in Leo is Regulus (REG-yoo-luss), the Latin word for "prince."
Regulus (Letter "M") is often thought of as the heart of the lion. For
more information, read the transcript of Big Cats, the 12 JAN 2002 StarDate,
the daily astronomy-related radio program produced by the McDonald
Observatory, University of Texas.
When Leo was first named, the stars of this constellation were rising and
setting with the Sun (the Sun was "in" Leo) at the time of year when the
Sun was at its maximum altitude (the Summer Solstice). At this point, the
Sun reaches its maximum power to give life to the Earth; since the lion
was traditionally considered to be the king of beasts on Earth, the name
Leo the Lion was used for this constellation.
Associated Mythology - According to Greek mythology, Hercules
slayed Leo as the first of his 12 labors. The Egyptians worshipped Leo
because the Nile River floods when the Sun enters Leo (the Egyptian Sphinx
is Virgo's head and Leo's body).
