León Menor
Little Lion (Leonis Minoris)
Leo Minor, the Little Lion, is a small, faint constellation between Leo and Ursa Major. Created by Johannes Hevelius in 1687, it contains no particularly bright stars and lacks a alpha star in official designations. Despite its obscurity, Leo Minor offers interesting galaxies for telescopic observers.
📜 Mitología
Leo Minor is a modern constellation with no classical mythology. It was created by Johannes Hevelius in 1687 to fill an area of sky between the ancient constellations Leo and Ursa Major. Hevelius intended it as a companion to Leo, much as Ursa Minor accompanies Ursa Major. Interestingly, when astronomers later assigned Greek letters to the stars, no alpha star was designated, leaving beta Leonis Minoris as the brightest star with a Greek letter.
💡 Datos curiosos
- ✦Leo Minor has no officially designated alpha star - an oversight that was never corrected
- ✦The constellation contains several faint galaxies including NGC 3344, a beautiful face-on spiral
- ✦Praecipua (46 Leonis Minoris) is an orange giant about 95 light-years from Earth