regulus star mythology

Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. The star is sometimes known by its traditional names Chort (from the Arabic al-khart or al-khurt, which means small rib), Coxa (Latin for hip) and Chertan (from the Arabic al-khartn, meaning two small ribs). Photo: ESO. The 2018 Gaia data release 2 revealed it to be a background object, not physically related to the Regulus system. The Planets. Regulus completes a rotation in only 15.9 hours and its equatorial rotational velocity is 96.5 percent of its breakup velocity. If the star were spinning 10 percent faster, it would fly apart as its gravity would not be strong enough to hold it together. It has a visual magnitude of 4.1 and is about 133 light years distant from Earth. Mira variables are pulsating variable stars that are in the late stage of evolution, very red in colour, and with pulsation periods longer than 100 days. Leo belongs to the Zodiac family of constellations, along with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. An occultation of Regulus by the asteroid 166 Rhodope was filmed in Italy on October 19, 2005. Unseen by the naked eye are two very faint companions to the much larger bright star. Regulus B and Regulus C take about 600 years to complete an orbit around a common centre of mass. It was the Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus who translated these names into Latin as Regulus. Its surface temperature averages about 12,460 Kelvin (21,970 degrees F or 12,190 degrees C), which is much higher than our suns surface temperature. [28] Regulus was occulted by the asteroid 163 Erigone in the early morning of March 20, 2014. In English, the constellation is known as the Lion. Regulus appears as a single star to the unaided eye, but it is in fact a quadruple star system consisting of two pairs of stars and possibly more components. Omicron Leonis is a double star in Leo. Denebola is the second brightest star in Leo and the 61st brightest star in the sky. Astronomers from Babylon knew the star as Sharru (the King) and in Persia, Regulus was one of the four Royal Stars, along with Aldebaran in Taurus, Antares in Scorpius and Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus. The gaseous envelope, rich in carbon, is some 69,000 years old and the star is losing an enormous amount of mass each year. Toucan). The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with all the other constellations of the zodiac. And now, in May, this blue-white star is brilliant in the eastern evening sky as soon as the sun goes down. On March 20, 2014, the star was occulted by 163 Erigone, a relatively large asteroid first discovered in April 1876. It's whopping 75 times larger than the Sun, and incredible 150 times brighter! It rose above the horizon as the sun set, stayed up all night long, and reached its highest point due south (as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) at local midnight. The genitive form of Leo, used in star names, is Leonis (pronunciation: /lions/). Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Before it became a white dwarf, the companion is believed to have transferred a lot of its mass onto the other star through gravitational interaction, speeding up the primary components rotation rate to what it is now. Along with Sirius and Orion, Regulus would be one of the star systems from which man originates. The spiral arms form an almost perfect circle around the galactic centre before they spread out, creating a mane-like effect of which any lion would be proud. The Egyptians considered Leo the House of the Sun, as when they first charted the stars, Leo was rising with the sun at the solstice, so Leo and Sirius were associated with the heat of summer. Regulus sits at the base of the Sickle, marking the lions heart. The star is approximately 247 light years distant from Earth. Regulus is best seen in late winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, when it rises high above the horizon in the evening. In fact, if Regulus rotated just a bit faster, it would fly apart! It also bears the nickname Cor Leonis, again meaning Lions Heart. Visitor Centers. [citation needed] In Chinese it is known as , the Fourteenth Star of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor. Regulus is not a binary star for once, although there is a binary nearby, and possibly a white dwarf. Babylonians knew the star Regulus as the star that stands at the Lions breast, or the King Star. Regulus is 0.465 degrees from the ecliptic,[25] the closest of the bright stars, and is often occulted by the Moon. Experience the game! These are the 22 stars with apparent magnitudes of less than +1.50. Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS Team, acknowledgement: R. Gendler. The best time of the year to observe the stars and deep sky objects of Leo is during the month of April, when the constellation is high above the horizon in the evening. Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! "There's nothing that we know of that can speed this star up," said Georgia State University astronomer Hal McAlister, who led the study of the star at the university's Center for High Angular Resolution (CHARA), in an interview at the time. Regulus is the only 1st magnitude star to sit almost squarely on the ecliptic, which marks the path of the sun, moon and planets across our sky. Archaeological evidence suggests that Mesopotamians had a constellation similar to Leo as early as 4000 BC. The text dealt with astrology and the supposed effect of events in the sky on humanity. However, Regulus C would require a larger telescope to be seen isolated from the system. It belongs to the spectral class M2.5 V. An extrasolar planet, Gliese 436b, was discovered in the stars orbit in 2004, and the presence of another planet, UCF-1.01, was confirmed in 2012. (CC BY 4.0). The BC pair lies at an angular distance of 177 arc-seconds from Regulus A, making them visible in amateur telescopes.[24]. Regulus is about 70 light-years away from Earth, making it the closest star of this type to our planet, according to astronomer David Darling. [23], The Regulus system as a whole is the twenty-first brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of +1.35. [citation needed], The idea there existed four royal stars of Persia was analysed in a 1945 article in Popular Astronomy, where the idea was criticized as largely a relatively modern invention, and/or a misunderstanding of the original source texts.[1]. Like Regulus, Denebola is a rapid rotator, which results in an oblate shape of the star, with a bulge at the equator. The other components of the Alpha Leonis system are still on the main sequence, but considerably fainter than Regulus A. Messier 65 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in Leo. It is a main sequence star with the stellar classification A3 V. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.113 and is approximately 35.9 light years distant from Earth. Fixed star Regulus, Alpha Leonis, is a 1.4 magnitude blue-white star in Leo Constellation. It is classified as a Delta Scuti variable, which means that its brightness varies slightly over a period of a few hours. Regulus is part of the Sickle of Leo, a sickle-shaped asterism that represents the head of the celestial Lion. While most of the bright stars of this constellation have been named in Arabic, the Latin name Regulusmeaning 'prince' or 'little king'turns out to be an exception. I am the child of earth and starry heaven. Petelia Tablet, We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Oscar Wilde. Image: Hubble ESA (CC BY 2.0). So bright planets sometimes pass near Regulus.. It has a visual magnitude of 10.8 and is a member of the Leo II Group (NGC 3607 Group) of galaxies. Another mystery is the source of its extremely rapid spin and strange motion. The two components complete an orbit every 40.11 days. Science news, great photos, sky alerts. He ultimately discovered a total of 12 comets, which bear his name. The star is also one of the vertices of the Spring Triangle, a conspicuous asterism visible in the evening sky during the northern hemisphere spring. Designated RegulusB and RegulusC, the pair has Henry Draper Catalogue number HD 87884. In the last 40 years of his life, he completed over 50 Messier Marathons and wrote 2 books on the subject. As a result, the star is emitting polarized light. The name Regulus was officially approved by the International Astronomical Unions (IAU) Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) on June 30, 2016. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[21] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. Delta Leonis is slightly larger and hotter than the Sun. It is 85 times more luminous than the Sun. Its extended envelope is believed to have at least 1.4 solar masses of ejected material. Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the lion, is a harbinger of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The two stars are separated by about 100 astronomical units and have an orbital period of 2,000 years. The first is a K2V star, while the second is about M4V. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. Thank you! . It set upon the local inhabitants and could not be defeated because it had impenetrable skin. Regulus in Leo. [31] The star can be viewed the whole night, crossing the sky, in late February. M95 belongs to the M96 Group of galaxies, which also includes M96 and M105, and also at least nine other galaxies. It was the most important of the Four Royal Stars of the Persians, which marked the seasons. The other name for Regulus is Cor Leonis, the Lions Heart. He received his 1st telescope in 1965, a 2-inch (5cm) refractor. It is classified as a Cepheid variable, changing by an amplitude of 0.3 magnitude every few days. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.35, making it the 21st brightest star in the night sky. Some observers consider Denebola instead of the brighter Regulus to mark one of the vertices and form a more equilateral triangle. NGC 3593 is a spiral galaxy in Leo. Messier 65, Messier 66 and NGC 3628 form the famous Leo Triplet galaxy group. During the December 2026 occultation, Mars and Jupiter will be nearby. Search local showtimes and buy movie tickets from theaters near you on Moviefone. Regulus B, and its companion star, Regulus C are dimmer main sequence stars that are bound together by gravity. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. In science fiction, Regulus has been used for television series such as "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5." The Chinese knew Regulus as the Fourteenth Star of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor (). Most of the stars in the galaxy are old. The Leo Ring is an enormous primordial cloud of hydrogen and helium found in orbit of two galaxies in the Leo constellation. A constellation is a pattern of stars in a recognisable shape that is supposed to resemble an object, animal or person. Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce . 3.33), Eta Leonis (mag. The traditional name Regulus is Latin for ' prince ' or ' little king .'. It is approximately 135 light years distant. The name Regulus is a diminutive form of "rex", which is Latin for "king". Your submission has been received! Native Americans have two general Ursa Major myths. It has 21 times the Suns mass, 37 times the radius, and it is about 295,000 times more luminous. Beta Leonis is a relatively young star. The constellation Leo was mentioned in the Tetrabiblos, an ancient Roman text by Ptolemy (c. A.D. 100 170). Regulus, also known as Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and the 21st brightest star in the night sky. The star was last occulted by Venus on July 7, 1959, and the next occultation, also by Venus, will not occur until October 1, 2044. Together, the Regulus BC pair can be seen in small telescopes. [4], The constellations of the royal stars were said to be fixed because their positions were close to the four fixed points of the sun's path. Regulus is the luminary of the constellation Leo. [18] The star's surface at the equator rotates at about 320 kilometres per second (199 miles per second), or 96.5% of its critical angular velocity for break-up. In medieval astrology, Regulus was one of the 15 Behenian fixed stars, believed to hold special astrological power. Venus last occulted Regulus on July 7, 1959. Can you believe it? Regulus star is also known as Basiliskos, Cor Leonis (Lions Heart), Qalb al-Asad and Rex. While Regulus, like the sun, fuses hydrogen to helium in its center, it is more massive than the sun and therefore hotter and brighter. Image created using the Aladin Sky Atlas software from the Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center and DSS (Digitized Sky Survey) data. Leo 1 is a dwarf galaxy, and a member of our local group. Larry Sessions has written many favorite posts in EarthSky's Tonight area. Regulus B and Regulus C share a common proper motion. Along with Messier 65 and Messier 66, NGC 3628 forms the Leo Triplet galaxy group. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. Leo constellation lies in the northern sky. The Persians might have thought otherwise if they knew what astronomers know now: it rotates extremely fast, and doesnt need to go a whole lot faster to tear itself to pieces, and like Uranus its axis is tilted, so that the poles are roughly where the equator should be. It has a visual magnitude of 9.7 and is approximately 30.6 million light years distant from the Sun. [4] The fainter one is Regulus B, a cool orange dwarf star with a spectral classification of K2 V. The B star has a mass that is 80% of the suns, and its half as bright. They were also believed to govern events in the world. It was first discovered by astronomer Pierre Mchain in 1781, and added to Charles Messiers famous catalogue of astronomical objects just four days later. (The Persians called it first Venant and then Miyan (the center). The January Leonids are a minor shower that peaks between January 1 and 7. Its traditional name, Algieba or Al Gieba, comes from the Arabic Al-Jabhah, which means the forehead. The star is sometimes also known by its Latin name, Juba. The primary component, formally known as Regulus, has been given the stellar classification B8 IVn, with the luminosity class of a subgiant star. [5], The royal stars were used primarily for navigation. The companion is believed to be a white dwarf. According to the first one, the constellation represents seven brothers and their sister who fled to the sky to escape a pursuer. The 2005 study examined the effects of the rotation for the first time using the CHARA telescope array on top of Mount Wilson in California. 2.113), Zosma (Delta Leo, mag. Regulus can also sometimes be occulted by asteroids. Stewart, Suzy. Later he received a 6-inch (15 cm) Criterion Dynascope and found all the Messier Objects in one year (1969-70). Astrophotographer John Chumack sent in a photo of Mars (red), Regulus (blue star) and the waning crescent moon in a triangle over his backyard observatory in Dayton, OH. The light output is dominated by Regulus A. Regulus B, if seen in isolation, would be a binocular object of magnitude +8.1, and its companion, Regulus C, the faintest of the three stars that has been directly observed, would require a substantial telescope to be seen, at magnitude +13.5. The star has two known companions nearby, a set of binary stars, but observations in the past few years suggest there may be a white dwarf lurking close to Regulus as well. The star is a very fast spinner, with a projected rotational velocity of 318 km/s at the equator. The International Occultation Timing Association recorded no observations at all. R Leonis is approximately 370 light years distant from the solar system. There are two meteor showers associated with the constellation. It is one of the lowest-mass stars ever discovered, as well as one of the faintest. A and BC share a common proper motion and are thought to orbit each other[5] taking several million years. Regulus is the faintest of the 22 first-magnitude stars. [29] The center of the shadow path passed through New York and eastern Ontario, but no one is known to have seen it, due to cloud cover. Aldebaran marked the vernal equinox and Antares marked the autumnal equinox, while Regulus marked the Summer Solstice and Fomalhaut the Winter Solstice. Earendel is almost twice as distant, lying 28 billion light-years away. Cor Caroli is another name for Regulus. Regulus B has the stellar classification K2 V, indicating an orange main sequence star, while Regulus C appears red and has been given the spectral class M4 V. The stars are much less massive than the primary, with masses of 0.8 and 0.3 solar masses respectively. In Chinese astronomy, Regulus is part of the Xuanyuan asterism, which consists of about 17 stars, among them 10 Ursae Majoris, Alpha Lyncis, 38 Lyncis, Kappa Leonis, Alterf (Lambda Leonis), Epsilon Leonis, Rasalas (Mu Leonis), Adhafera (Zeta Leonis), Eta Leonis, Algieba (Gamma Leonis), Subra (Omicron Leonis), and Rho Leonis. The name Regulus means little king or prince in Latin. Heracles is represented by the larger constellation Hercules. Inferno Escape Room. Rgulus is Latin for 'prince' or 'little king';[36] its Greek equivalent (Latinised) is Basiliscus. Eta Leonis is white supergiant belonging to the spectral class A0 Ib. By early June, itll be high in the southwest an hour after sunset.

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