Leo Minor - Little LionLearn about the constellation Leo Minor - Little Lion, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.
Leo Minor is a rather dim constellation that can barely be recognized as a triangle and lies between the easily discerned constellations Ursa Major and Leo
Location: Northern Spring 10h RA 35° Dec
There is little to see for owners of small telescopes. There is only one star brighter than 4m and the brightest deep sky object is NGC 3003, a galaxy with an apparent brightness of 11.7m and an angular size of 5.9 arc minutes.
Leo Minor Mythology
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.
Leo Minor Deep Space Objects
In terms of deep-sky objects, Leo Minor contains many galaxies viewable in amateur telescopes.
NGC 3432 the knitting needle galaxy, NGC 3003, an SBbc barred spiral galaxy, NGC 3504 a starburst barred spiral galaxy and spiral galaxy NGC 3486 are all viewable in modest equipment.
| Northern Circumpolar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camelopardalis | Cassiopeia | Cepheus | Draco | Lacerta | Ursa Major |
| Ursa Minor |
| Northern Spring | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antlia | Boötes | Cancer | Coma Berenices | Crater | Hydra |
| Leo | Leo Minor | Virgo |
| Northern Summer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquila | Corona Borealis | Cygnus | Delphinus | Equuleus | Hercules |
| Libra | Lyra | Ophiuchus | Sagitta | Scutum | Serpens |
| Vulpecula |
| Northern Autumn | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda | Aquarius | Aries | Capricornus | Pegasus | Pisces |
| Triangulum |
| Northern Winter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auriga | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Cetus | Eridanus |
| Gemini | Lepus | Lynx | Monoceros | Orion | Perseus |
| Taurus |
