Stargazers often think of the March and April evening sky as being commanded by Orion appearing in the southwest. With its bright stars Rigel and Betelgeuse and its three belt stars, it is certainly hard not to notice. But that is by no means all there is to see in the night sky.
Climbing nearly overhead is the familiar pattern of seven stars, the Big Dipper. Directly south of it, lies an easily traced constellation slightly larger than the Big Dipper, Leo the Lion.
To many people, Leo really does outline the shape of a relaxing lion with its southwestern bright star, Regulus, representing a front paw. Looking just north of Regulus is one of the sky’s most unusual and, once it is seen, one of its most recognizable asterisms, the “Sickle of Leo.” (It is also frequently called “the Backwards Question Mark” for obvious reasons.)
The constellation’s easternmost star, Denebola, marking the lion’s tail, also does double duty as the western star of another asterism, the “Spring Triangle.”
Head to a dark area away from any outdoor lights, such as along the Blue Ridge Parkway, look high in the south, and meet Leo. It will greet you every March and April evening in the years to come.
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2024 issue.
