Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:59  
clear_day Transit: 12:48  
SunsetSet: 18:36 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
All Constellations » Leo » 

η Leonis (eta Leonis)

Altitude: 53.2°   Azimuth: 155.1°   Direction: South-South-East

η Leonis is a variable and double hypergiant star in the constellation of Leo.

η Leonis visual magnitude is 3.52. Because of its moderate brightness, η 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 η Leonis:

3.52
Hypergiant

η Leonis (eta Leonis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 53.2°
Azimuth: 155.1°
Direction: South-South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of η Leonis

η 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 η Leonis are provided in the following table:

10h 07m 19s
+16° 45’ 46”
219.53°
50.75°
Leo

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

Finder chart η Leonis (eta Leonis) star
Simplified finder chart for η Leonis (eta Leonis).

Visibility of η 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 η Leonis (eta 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: 73.2°
Max altitude: 55.3°
Azimuth: 286.8°

Digitized Sky Survey image of η Leonis

The image below is a photograph of η 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 η Leonis is -0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of η Leonis (eta Leonis) star
DSS2 image of η Leonis. The red arrow shows the motion of η Leonis during the next 100000 years (-3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of η Leonis from the Sun and relative movement

η Leonis is distant 2,130.72 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

653.59 pc
2,130.72 ly
3 km/s
-0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of η Leonis

η Leonis belongs to spectral class A0 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a hypergiant star.

-5.56
A0I
10516K

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

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

η Leonis star system properties

η Leonis 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 η Leonis double sysyem:

3.52
4.02
0.5
0.1 arcsec

Alternative designations of η Leonis

η Leonis
(eta Leonis)
SAO98955
SAO98955