dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (02/23/86)
The moon is in the constellation Leo the lion tonight. Stay tuned for a tale about Leo -- February 23 The Moon near Regulus That bright star near the moon tonight is Regulus -- the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. The star pattern that makes up Leo has long been associated with the symbol of a lion. One story about Leo concerns the first of the twelve famous labors of the hero Hercules. Once a burning meteor fell from the sky, the story goes, and landed in the valley of Nemea in Greece. There the meteor took on the shape of a golden lion. This lion was more terrible than any earthly beast. Large and fierce -- with a hide no arrow could pierce -- the lion ravaged the countryside. Hercules came to kill the lion. He shot arrows to no avail -- and his spear just bounced off the lion's tough hide. Finally Hercules used his mighty hands to strangle the beast. When he tried to skin the lion his knife couldn't cut it. Hercules had to use one of the lion's own claws to slice through the hide. In honor of Hercules's deed, the king of the gods placed a starry figure of Hercules in the sky -- as well as a lion made of stars. You can find that lion for yourself tonight. First, look for the moon. That bright star near the moon is Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. Regulus is the bottom star of a pattern that looks like a backwards question mark. That's the head of Leo the lion. And if you wait several hours -- the star pattern that makes up the constellation Hercules will rise in the east -- still in celestial pursuit of his lion. Script by Diana Hadley. (c) Copyright 1985, 1986 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin