In the northern celestial hemisphere, Leo Minor is a small and dim constellation. In contrast to Leo, the greater lion, its name means "the tiny lion." It is located between the larger and more familiar Ursa Major to the north and the smaller and less well-known Leo to the south. Classical astronomers did not recognise Leo Minor as a unique constellation until Johannes Hevelius recognised it in 1687. (Ridpath & Tirion 2001)
In the constellation, there are 37 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 6.5, with three stars brighter than magnitude 4.5. 46 Leonis Minoris is a magnitude 3.8 orange giant located 95 light-years from Earth. Beta Leonis Minoris is the second brightest star in the constellation, with a brightness of 4.4. It is also the only one having a Bayer designation. It's a binary system with an orange giant as the brighter component and a yellow-white main sequence star as the fainter. 21 Leonis Minoris, a rapidly revolving white main-sequence star with an average magnitude of 4.5, is the third brightest star. Two stars with planetary systems, two pairs of interacting galaxies, and the peculiar deep-sky object Hanny's Voorwerp make up the constellation. |
History
The stars in what is now Leo Minor were categorised by Claudius Ptolemy as amorphōtoi (without belonging to a constellation outline) within the constellation Leo by the classical astronomers Aratus and Claudius Ptolemy. (Allen 1963) In his star atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Johannes Hevelius first represented Leo Minor in 1687, when he delineated ten new constellations and listed 18 of their objects in the Catalogues Stellarum Fixarum. (Hevelius 1687) Hevelius chose Leo Minor or Leo Junior as a representation to match its ferocious neighbours, the Lion, and the Great Bear. (Wagman 2003) The list of Hevelius' new constellations was amended in 1845 by English astronomer Francis Baily, who assigned a Greek letter known as Bayer designation to stars brighter than apparent magnitude 4.5. (Wagman 2003) In 1870, Richard A. Proctor named the constellation Leaena "the Lioness," noting that he wanted to abbreviate constellation names to make them easier to remember on celestial charts. (Proctor 1870) The stars of Leo Minor were dubbed Al Thib' wa-Aulduh "Gazelle with her Young" on a 13th-century Arabic celestial globe unearthed by Cardinal Stefano Borgia and stored in the prelate's museum at Velletri, according to German astronomer Christian Ludwig Ideler. (Allen 1963) Arabist Friedrich Wilhelm Lach gives a different perspective, stating that they were once known as Al Haud, or "the Pond," into which the Gazelle leaps. (Allen 1963) The stars Beta, 30, 37, and 46 Leonis Minoris formed Neiping, a "Court of Judge or Mediator," or Shi "Court Eunuch" in Chinese astrology or were merged with stars of the neighbouring Leo to form a gigantic celestial dragon or State Chariot. (Allen 1963) Shaowei was a four-star constellation that signified four Imperial advisors. |
Characteristics
In favourable conditions, a black patch of the sky with a triangle of brighter stars can be seen with the naked eye. Patrick Moore regarded Leo Minor as having "dubious claims to a separate identity." (Moore 2000) It is a minor constellation bounded to the north by Ursa Major, to the west by Lynx, to the south by Leo, and to the southwest by the corner of Cancer. The International Astronomical Union established the three-letter abbreviation "LMi" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with 16 sides defines the official constellation limits, which were established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930.
The right ascension coordinates of these borders are between 9h 22.4m and 11h 06.5m in the equatorial coordinate system, while the declination coordinates are between 22.84° and 41.43°. Leo Minor is the 64th largest constellation in the sky, with 232.0 square degrees, or 0.562 percent of the sky. Each year, it culminates at midnight on February 24th (Thompson & Thompson 2007) and at 9 p.m. on May 24th.
In favourable conditions, a black patch of the sky with a triangle of brighter stars can be seen with the naked eye. Patrick Moore regarded Leo Minor as having "dubious claims to a separate identity." (Moore 2000) It is a minor constellation bounded to the north by Ursa Major, to the west by Lynx, to the south by Leo, and to the southwest by the corner of Cancer. The International Astronomical Union established the three-letter abbreviation "LMi" for the constellation in 1922. (Russell 1922) A polygon with 16 sides defines the official constellation limits, which were established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930.
The right ascension coordinates of these borders are between 9h 22.4m and 11h 06.5m in the equatorial coordinate system, while the declination coordinates are between 22.84° and 41.43°. Leo Minor is the 64th largest constellation in the sky, with 232.0 square degrees, or 0.562 percent of the sky. Each year, it culminates at midnight on February 24th (Thompson & Thompson 2007) and at 9 p.m. on May 24th.
Deep-sky Objects
NGC 3432 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3003 – near edge on Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3344 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3504 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3486 – Intermediate Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 2859 – Barred Lenticular Galaxy
NGC 3395 and NGC 3396 – Spiral and Irregular Barred Galaxies which are interacting
Hanny’s Voorwerp – Rare Astronomical Object Quasar Ionization Echo
IC 2497 – Spiral Galaxy (Extremely small – 650Ma away)
Leo Minor is full of smaller distant galaxies which require large aperture telescopes to get any detail.
Main stars - 3
Bayer stars - 34
Stars with planets - 3
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Bordering
constellations
Meteor showers
NGC 3432 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3003 – near edge on Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3344 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3504 – Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 3486 – Intermediate Barred Spiral Galaxy
NGC 2859 – Barred Lenticular Galaxy
NGC 3395 and NGC 3396 – Spiral and Irregular Barred Galaxies which are interacting
Hanny’s Voorwerp – Rare Astronomical Object Quasar Ionization Echo
IC 2497 – Spiral Galaxy (Extremely small – 650Ma away)
Leo Minor is full of smaller distant galaxies which require large aperture telescopes to get any detail.
Main stars - 3
Bayer stars - 34
Stars with planets - 3
Stars brighter than magnitude 3.00 - 0
Stars within 32 Ly - 0
Bordering
constellations
- Ursa Major
- Lynx
- Cancer
- Leo
Meteor showers
- Leonis Minorids – Mid to late October