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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: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Leo » 

61 Leonis

Altitude: -40.1°   Azimuth: 345.6°   Direction: North-North-West

61 Leonis is a variable hypergiant star in the constellation of Leo.

61 Leonis visual magnitude is 4.74. Because of its moderate brightness, 61 Leonis should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 61 Leonis:

4.74
Hypergiant

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

Altitude: -40.1°
Azimuth: 345.6°
Direction: North-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 61 Leonis

61 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 61 Leonis are provided in the following table:

11h 01m 49s
-02° 29’ 04”
256.87°
50.32°
Leo

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 61 Leonis in the sky:

Finder chart 61 Leonis star
Simplified finder chart for 61 Leonis.

Visibility of 61 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 61 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: 92.5°
Max altitude: 36.0°
Azimuth: 267.5°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 61 Leonis

The image below is a photograph of 61 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 61 Leonis is 0.012 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.038 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 61 Leonis star
DSS2 image of 61 Leonis. The red arrow shows the motion of 61 Leonis during the next 10000 years (2.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -6.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 61 Leonis from the Sun and relative movement

61 Leonis is distant 514.20 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 14 kilometers per second.

157.73 pc
514.20 ly
-14 km/s
0.012 arcsec/year
-0.038 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 61 Leonis

61 Leonis belongs to spectral class M0 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a hypergiant star.

-1.25
M0III
3622K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 61 Leonis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 61 Leonis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of 61 Leonis

SAO137947
SAO137947