JAMES: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS.

I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA
PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA.

DEAN: AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM
THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.

JAMES: THE CONSTELLATION OF LEO THE LION IS
RIDING HIGH IN THE EVENING SKY RIGHT NOW AND

HE HAS SOME INTERESTING STARS WITH SOME CREATIVE
NAMES.

DEAN: SO FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS FOR A RIDE
THROUGH THE SKY WITH LEO THE LION!

JAMES: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET FOR ABOUT
AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET, FACING SOUTHEAST.

HIGH ABOVE THE HORIZON YOU'LL SEE LEO CASUALLY
RECLINING JUST AS THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DEPICTED

HIM IN A REGAL SPHINX LIKE POSITION.

DEAN: HIS HEAD AND FOREQUARTERS ARE FORMED
BY A BACKWARD QUESTION MARK WITH THE BRIGHT

BLUE WHITE STAR REGULUS MARKING HIS HEART.

HIS REAR IS MARKED BY A TRIANGLE OF STARS
WITH LEO'S SECOND BRIGHTEST STAR, DENEBOLA,

MARKING HIS TAIL.

JAMES: THE STARS IN THE HEAD OF LEO ALSO FORM
AN ASTERISM CALLED THE SICKLE.

ALL THE STARS ARE VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE
EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE QUITE FAR FROM US.

DEAN: THE NAMES OF THE STARS, STARTING AT
THE TOP OF THE BACKWARDS QUESTION MARK AND

WORKING OUR WAY DOWN ARE: EPSILON LEONIS,
RASALAS, ADHAFERA, ALGIEBA, ETA LEONIS AND

OF COURSE REGULUS.

JAMES: AS FAR AS THE TRIANGULAR SHAPE OF STARS
MARKING THE TAIL, YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT DENEBOLA,

HOWEVER THE OTHER TWO STARS ARE ZOSMA (TO
THE NORTHWEST OF DENEBOLA) AND CHERTAN (TO

THE SOUTH OF ZOSMA).

DEAN: WITHIN THE OFFICIAL BOUNDARY OF LEO,
THERE ARE OVER 90 STARS!

5 OF THOSE STARS ARE LESS THAN 33 LIGHT YEARS
FROM EARTH (THAT'S KINDA CLOSE FOR ASTRONOMERS)

AND AT LEAST 13 OF THOSE STARS HAVE PLANETS
CIRCLING AROUND THEM.

JAMES: THE BRIGHTEST STARS OF LEO ARE AN EXCELLENT
EXAMPLE OF PERSIAN STAR NAMING.

IF YOUVE WATCHED OUR SHOW OVER THE YEARS,
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT A LOT OF THE STARS

HAVE ARABIC NAMES.

DEAN: THAT'S BECAUSE MANY OF THE STARS WERE
NAMED BY PERSIAN ASTRONOMERS THOUSANDS OF

YEARS AGO.

THE STAR PATTERNS THEY SAW WAY BACK THEN ARE
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE STILL CALL THEM TODAY.

AND THEY OFTEN NAMED THE STARS AFTER THE BODYPART
THAT THE STAR REPRESENTED WITHIN THE CONSTELLATION.

JAMES: FOR EXAMPLE, THE PREFIX "DENEB" MEANS
TAIL.

AND "RAS" MEANS HEAD.

SEVERAL STARS IN THE SKY HAVE EITHER DENEB
OR RAS AS PART OF THEIR NAMES.

DEAN: RASALAS (ALSO KNOWN AS MU LEONIS) IS
THE STAR AT THE TOP OF THE LEOS HEAD.

ITS 133 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH AND ITS NAME
IS SHORT FOR AL RAS AL ASAD AL SHAMALI.

WHEN TRANSLATED IT MEANS THE NORTHERN STAR
OF THE LIONS HEAD.

WOW, THAT'S AWFUL SPECIFIC!

JAMES: AND ON THE OTHER END OF THE LION, DENEBOLA
IS A BLUE-WHITE STAR AND ITS 36 LIGHT YEARS

FROM EARTH.

ITS NAME MEANS THE LIONS TAIL.

JAMES: REGULUS IS A BLUE-WHITE MAIN SEQUENCE
STAR WITH A DIMMER SECONDARY STAR.

BOTH STARS ARE A LITTLE OVER 77 LIGHT YEARS
FROM EARTH.

AND THE NAME REGULUS MEANS LITTLE KING.

DEAN: ALGIEBA IS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 126
LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH AND IT'S NAME MEANS

"THE FOREHEAD."

JAMES: ADHAFERA IS A WHITE GIANT STAR 260
LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH AND IT'S NAME MEANS

"THE BRAID", WHICH IS IN REFERENCE TO THE
LION'S MANE.

DEAN: IN 2014, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THE RASALAS
HAS A PLANETARY COMPANION MORE THAN TWICE

THE MASS OF JUPITER, WITH A YEAR 358 DAYS
LONG.

JAMES: THE LAST TWO STARS WE'LL TALK ABOUT
ARE NEAR THE TAIL OF LEO.

THEIR NAMES ARE ZOSMA AND CHERTAN.

ZOSMA IS A WHITE STAR OVER TWICE THE DIAMETER
OF OUR SUN.

IN ANCIENT GREEK, ITS NAME MEANS "GIRDLE"
AND THIS STAR IS 58 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH.

DEAN: CHERTAN IS A LARGE STAR THAT IS MORE
THAN TWO AND A HALF TIMES THE MASS OF OUR

SUN AND ITS NAME MEANS "TWO SMALL RIBS".

CHERTAN IS 141 TIMES BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN
AND IS 165 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

JAMES: WOW!

IF CHERTAN WERE OUR SUN, WE'D BE PRETTY TOASTY.

DEAN: MOST DEFINITELY!

DEAN: SO, GET OUTSIDE AND CHECK OUT THE BRIGHTEST
STARS OF LEO THE LION!

JAMES: WE HAVE RASALAS, ADHAFERA, ALGIEBA,
AND REGULUS MAKING PARTS OF HIS HEAD

DEAN: AND ZOSMA, CHERTAN AND DENEBOLA MAKING
HIS REAR END AND TAIL.

JAMES: HE'S EASY TO FIND WHEN YOU

BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!