dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (10/26/86)
Regulus and the moon -- after this. October 26 Regulus and the Moon Monday and Tuesday morning, you can find the star Regulus near the waning crescent moon high in the southeast before sunrise. The moon is west of Regulus Monday morning -- and east of the star Tuesday morning. Both mornings, look high in the southeast before dawn. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo. It's sometimes called the Heart of the Lion. This star happens to lie nearly on the ecliptic -- an imaginary line that marks the sun's path against the background stars. Ancient skywatchers called the ecliptic "the road of the sun." But besides the sun, the moon and planets wander this road as well. Thus the moon often passes near Regulus -- and it will again Monday and Tuesday before dawn. Regulus -- and three other bright stars -- once were known as the Royal Stars. The three others are Antares, Fomalhaut, and Aldebaran. The designation "royal" may come from the fact that these stars all lie near the ecliptic. Each is bright -- and each is associated with a season of the year. Regulus is up in the morning right now -- but most people think of Regulus as a spring star, because each spring, it appears in the evening sky. Likewise, Antares is a prominent star each summer -- Fomalhaut each fall -- and Aldebaran in wintertime. So the star Regulus lies nearly on the ecliptic -- the road of the sun -- or path of the planets -- though its presence there has nothing at all to do with our solar system. In fact, you'd have to travel far beyond the solar system -- which extends only a few light-hours from Earth. You'd have to journey out for 85 light-years before you'd reach Regulus. Script by Deborah Byrd and Diana Hadley. (c) Copyright 1985, 1986 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin