About Leo

Leo (pronounced /ˈliːoʊ/) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for lion. Its symbol is (Unicode ♌), a corruption of the initial letter of Λεων (Leon).^[1] Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east.eo contains many bright stars, such as Regulus (α Leonis), the lion's heart; Denebola (β Leonis); and γ¹ Leonis (Algieba). Many other fainter stars have been named as well, such as δ Leo (Zosma), θ Leo (Chort), κ Leo (Al Minliar al Asad ), λ Leo (Alterf), and ο Leo (Subra).

Regulus, η Leonis, and γ Leonis, together with the fainter stars ζ Leo (Adhafera), μ Leo (Ras Elased Borealis), and ε Leo (Ras Elased Australis), make up the asterism known as the Sickle. These stars represent the head and the mane of the lion.

The star Wolf 359, one of the nearest stars to Earth (7.7 light-years), is in Leo. Gliese 436, a faint star in Leo about 33 light years away from the Sun, is orbited by one of the smallest extrasolar planets ever found.^[2]

The carbon star CW Leo (IRC +10216) is the brightest star in the night sky at the infrared N-band (10 μm wavelength).