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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Leo » 

51 Leonis

Altitude: -4.9°   Azimuth: 50.9°   Direction: North-East

51 Leonis is a giant star in the constellation of Leo.

51 Leonis visual magnitude is 5.49. Because of its reltive faintness, 51 Leonis should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 51 Leonis:

5.49
Giant

51 Leonis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -4.9°
Azimuth: 50.9°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 51 Leonis

51 Leonis is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 51 Leonis are provided in the following table:

10h 46m 24s
+18° 53’ 29”
222.26°
60.16°
Leo

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 51 Leonis in the sky:

Finder chart 51 Leonis star
Simplified finder chart for 51 Leonis.

Visibility of 51 Leonis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 51 Leonis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 71.1°
Max altitude: 57.4°
Azimuth: 288.9°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 51 Leonis

The image below is a photograph of 51 Leonis from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 51 Leonis is 0.097 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.038 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 51 Leonis star
DSS2 image of 51 Leonis. The red arrow shows the motion of 51 Leonis during the next 1000 years (1.62 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.63 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 51 Leonis from the Sun and relative movement

51 Leonis is distant 178.43 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 6 kilometers per second.

54.73 pc
178.43 ly
-6 km/s
0.097 arcsec/year
-0.038 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 51 Leonis

51 Leonis belongs to spectral class K3

1.80
K3
4472K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 51 Leonis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 51 Leonis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 51 Leonis

SAO99281
SAO99281