Constellation Leo Minor (Lesser Lion)

Properties

Leo Minor lies between the large and bright constellations Leo and Ursa Maior. The amorphous star formation is composed of several weak stars of 4th magnitude. The most striking is a long, isosceles triangle with the base in the south, parallel to the celestial equator. The area is 232 square degrees and the center culminates around midnight on February 24th. ^{[9, 15]}

Stars with Proper Names ^[154]
46 LMi	Praecipua

Data for constellation Leo Minor ^[150]
IAU Name	Leo Minor
IAU Genitive	Leonis Minoris
IAU Abbr.	LMi
English Name	Lesser Lion
Opposition	21 February
Season (47° N)	October … June
Right Ascension	09^h 22^m 35^s … 11^h 06^m 51^s
Declination	+22° 50' 15" … +41° 25' 54"
Area	232 deg²
Neighbours (N↻)	UMa, Lyn, Cnc, Leo

Deep-Sky Object Descriptions

Catalogues

History

Leo Minor was introduced by the Danzig astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his work Prodromus Astronomiae 1690. The designation of the stars has remained very fragmentary, as most celestial cartographers ignored this constellation. Only the second brightest star was designated with a Greek letter: β Leonis Minoris. The brightest star is 46 Leonis Minoris (Praecipua). ^[7]