Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:52  ☀️ Transit: 12:04  🌅 Sunset: 18:18

Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis)

Denebola, also designated as β Leonis (beta Leonis), is a variable and multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Leo.

Denebola visual magnitude is 2.14, making it the 62th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Denebola is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Denebola:

2.14
Main-sequence
Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Denebola

Denebola 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 Denebola are provided in the following table:

11h 49m 03s
+14° 34’ 18”
250.65°
70.81°
Leo

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Denebola in the sky:

Finder chart Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis) star
Simplified finder chart for Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis).

Visibility of Denebola from your location

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

Today's Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 75.4°
Max altitude: 53.1°
Azimuth: 284.6°
Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Denebola

The image below is a photograph of Denebola 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 Denebola is -0.497 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.114 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Denebola - β Leonis (beta Leonis) star
DSS2 image of Denebola. The red arrow shows the motion of Denebola during the next 1000 years (-8.28 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.90 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Denebola from the Sun and relative movement

Denebola is distant 36.16 light years from the Sun

11.09 pc
36.16 ly
-0.497 arcsec/year
-0.114 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Denebola

Denebola belongs to spectral class A3 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

1.92
A3V
9125K

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

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

Denebola star system properties

Denebola is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Denebola double sysyem:

2.14
8.64
6.5
264 arcsec

Alternative designations of Denebola

Denebola
β Leonis
(beta Leonis)
SAO99809
SAO99809