Moon brushes the belly of Leo the Lion
Print Me Email to FriendTonight's Sky for Monday, May 12 2008
The moon reaches its first quarter phase today, at 3:47 Universal Time (10:47 p.m. Central Daylight Time on May 11). That was really yesterday evening according to U.S. clocks. When the moon comes out this evening in the Americas, it’ll be slightly past first quarter or a waxing gibbous moon.
The star Regulus and the planet Saturn both are near the moon tonight. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Regulus dots the backward question mark of stars dubbed the Sickle. The Sickle outlines the Lion’s head and mane, and the triangle of stars to the left of the Sickle depicts the hindquarters and tail.
Regulus sits almost squarely on the ecliptic – the sun’s path through the constellations of the zodiac. Annually, the sun passes in front of Leo from about August 10 – September 15, and pairs with Regulus on or near August 23. On this date, Regulus rises with the sun, shines with the sun at midday, and sets with the sun.
Six months later, in February, Regulus will be opposite the sun in our sky, lighting the nighttime from dusk till dawn.
