Without a doubt, the constellations of spring are not nearly as flashy as the star patterns of winter, but there are a few decent ones. Leo the Lion is one of them. There’s no question as to what he resembles. The main part of the constellation looks like a backward question mark shining brightly in the early high southern Marshall sky. Even if you’re looking in light-polluted skies you should be able to spot it unless the light pollution is outrageous!

The period at the bottom of the question mark is Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Regulus is over 77 light-years away, and if you’re new to this column, one light-year is equivalent to just under 6 trillion miles! This star is three to four times as massive as the sun, and about three to four times the diameter of our home star.

Regulus marks the heart of the oversized celestial feline, and the rest of the curved question mark outlines the profile of the lion’s head. Just to the left of the backward question mark, you should see three moderately bright stars that form a triangle that makes up the rear end and tail of the celestial king of the beasts. Denebola, the second brightest star in Leo, marks the tip of the big cat’s tail.

There are many legends and mythology stories about Leo the Lion. I think the best one comes from the Greeks and it involves Hercules, the mighty hero. He wasn’t always a hero though. Hercules committed hideous crimes after being driven temporarily insane by his marriage to the evil princess Megara. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but his crimes were beyond horrific. Almost immediately afterward, Hercules was immensely remorseful for his horrible crimes and wanted to make amends. After consulting a wiseman, Hercules pleaded his case to Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. The king assigned Hercules 12 great labors that he had to perform to atone for his sins.

His first labor was to slay Leo thee mighty Lion. Leo was a definite terror of the land, devouring anyone that got in his way. Many a brave hunter met his demise trying to slay the lion. Most of them became lion food! Leo’s hide was like steel armor and no spears could pierce it. Hercules had his work cut out for him, but he had to succeed in making amends for his heinous crimes. For weeks and weeks he stalked Leo, and his patience finally paid off when an opportunity finally presented itself. After gobbling down a fair princess for a mid-afternoon snack, the beast laid down for a nap. Moving as fast as he could, Hercules dove at the mighty lion and went right for its thick neck. With his tremendous strength and his large hands, he struggled with the animal for hours but finally choked the beast with his bare hands! To commend his momentous accomplishment, the gods placed both Leo the Lion and Hercules in the skies.

By the way, you can see the fainter constellation Hercules in the early evening summer eastern heavens. I’ll have much more to say about the constellation Hercules in June. Meanwhile, see if you can visually capture the great celestial king of the beasts!

Comet Atlas may be breaking up.

Comet Atlas, formally known as Comet C/2019, is still approaching our part of the solar system. It still holds the promise of being a bright comet, possibly visible to the naked eye in early May, but there’s now some doubt about that. Comets are basically big balls of ice and frozen gases embedded with rocks and dirt. As they travel in from distant reaches of the solar system, increasingly intense solar radiation causes them to partially melt, producing a large enveloping cloud and a tail of dust, water vapor and other gases. Sometimes though, incoming comets succumb to the sun’s power and get obliterated. This could be happening to Comet Atlas but don’t totally give up on it. Atlas could still put on a show but somewhat muted. Stay tuned! If you want to look for Atlas with a telescope the best star maps for finding it include the Sky Guide app or Heavens-above.com

Mike Lynch is an amaMike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is also the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and at  adventurepublications.net. Contact Mike Lynch at  mikewlynch@comcast.net.