How to find Leo
A genuine lion shape led by the backwards-question-mark Sickle and bright Regulus.
Regulus — the 'little king', at the base of the Sickle.
Leo is the herald of spring and one of the zodiac constellations that actually resembles its animal — a crouching lion. Its head and mane form a distinctive asterism called the Sickle, shaped like a backwards question mark.
It climbs high on spring evenings and is home to several bright galaxies that are favourites in small telescopes.
The Sickle and the triangle
The bright star Regulus sits at the bottom of the Sickle (the question-mark's dot), marking the lion's heart. To the east, a right-angled triangle of stars — anchored by Denebola — forms the lion's hindquarters and tail.
Galaxy season
Looking toward Leo, we look out of the Milky Way's plane into deep space, so the constellation is full of galaxies rather than star clusters. Spring is often called 'galaxy season' for exactly this reason.
How to find it
- Use the Big Dipper's Pointer stars backwards (away from Polaris) to drop down to Regulus
- Spot the backwards-question-mark Sickle above Regulus
- Look east of the Sickle for the triangle marking the tail
Deep-sky highlights
- The Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC 3628) — three galaxies in one field
- The M95/M96 galaxy group
- All best from a dark, transparent sky
Stella shows exactly when Leo is highest from your location tonight — and whether the sky is worth it.
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