05/25/2017 – Ephemeris – Another look at Leo the lion

Ephemeris for Ascension Thursday, Thursday, May 25th.  Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 9 minutes, setting at 9:14, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:04.  The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

The constellation Leo the lion is now high in the southwest at 10:30 pm.  It’s below the Big Dipper higher up near the zenith.  Leo is marked by two sets of easily recognizable stars.  The front of him is a backward question mark of stars, also known as the Sickle that mark his head and mane, along with the front part of his body.  Regulus is the star at the bottom of that backwards question mark.  It’s the Little King Star.  The hind end of him is a triangle of stars ending with another bright star, but not as bright as Regulus.  It’s Denebola which means Lion’s tail.  It was thought when the sun was in this constellation long ago that the lions were driven by the heat to quench their thirst in the Nile river.   Ancient physicians thought medicines were poison when the Sun was here too.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Animation on how to find Leo the lion at 10:30 p.m., May 25, 2017. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.  Click on image to enlarge if necessary.