The brightest star in the twelve constellations.

The earth is like a bus running with us in the solar system, and the scenery along the way is a struggle in the sky. So in different seasons, the starry sky we see is different.

Spring is coming again. In winter, the beautiful Orion in the night sky quickly falls to the western horizon after sunset. No longer the protagonist in the spring starry sky. So which is the most prominent and beautiful constellation in the spring night sky? It's Leo

Of course, this is not the Leo in astrology, but the Leo in astronomy. It is a Leo composed of stars, and we can see it when we look up. How to identify Leo?

Let's talk about the shape of Leo first. People associate adjacent stars in the sky and imagine their shapes as some kind of animal or object. This is a constellation. Leo, as its name implies, the stars that make up Leo look like a lion together. The most obvious feature of Leo is that there are six stars forming a big question mark. This big rhetorical question is the head and neck of a Leo lion. It can be seen that this lion is a male lion. Because the arched rhetorical question looks like a lion's mane.

In addition, there are three stars to the left of these six stars, which make up the lion's body and tail. This is the basic shape of Leo.

Let's talk about the position of Leo. April is the best month to observe Leo. In April, Leo will come to the south of the zenith around 8 pm. Above it is a little lion; Below is the sextant seat; Virgo on the left and Cancer on the right. The stars that make up these constellations are all darker than Leo. Therefore, Leo is the most obvious in the starry sky in spring, and it is easy to identify. In recent days, the moon has just passed through Leo, and finding the moon will also find the position of Leo.

Knowing the shape and position of Leo, let's learn about these main stars that make up Leo! Leo has nine main stars. From the lion's head, Xuanyuan 9 (apparent magnitude 2.95), Xuanyuan 10 (apparent magnitude 3.85), Xuanyuan1(apparent magnitude 3.4), algie Ba (apparent magnitude 2.20), Xuanyuan 13 (apparent magnitude 3.85).

Here we are named after the China Star Officer of these stars. The brightest star in Leo is Xuanyuan XIV (Alpha Star of Leo). It is located in the heart of the lion, and the brightness of the whole day ranks 2 1.

What kind of star is Xuanyuan XIV? This star is quite interesting. It is about 77.5 light years away from the earth. In the universe, many stars have companions. For example, Sirius is a binary star system; Proxima centauri is a ternary galaxy. According to observations, scientists believe that Xuanyuan XIV (Leo Alpha Star) is a star gathering system consisting of at least four stars.

The heart of Leo, Xuanyuan XIV, what we see with the naked eye is Xuanyuan XIV A, which is the dominant star gathering system. It is a blue-and-white main sequence star, its mass is about 3.5 times that of the sun and its radius is about 3. 15~4. 15 times that of the sun. Xuanyuan 14a is bigger than Sirius, the brightest star at night.

Interestingly, Xuanyuan 14A rotates very fast. Its rotation period is only 15.6 hours. How fast is this? Compare with the sun first. The period of the sun is about 25 days. In other words, the sun has completed a rotation and has rotated 38.5 times. Besides, don't ignore it, it is a star bigger than the sun. Imagine how fast it spins!

Scientists tell us that the linear rotation speed of Xuanyuan 14A on the equator reaches 320 kilometers per second, that is, 1 152000 kilometers per hour. The rotation speed of the Milky Way at the sun is about 220 kilometers per second. The rotation speed of Xuanyuan 14a is faster than that of the Milky Way100km.

Friends will definitely ask, "Can Xuanyuan 14A switch so quickly stand it?" Scientists have found that Xuanyuan 14a has turned itself into a highly flat ellipsoid because of its extremely fast rotation speed. If its rotating speed is increased by 16%, Xuanyuan 14A will fall apart by itself.

Careful friends will also find out how many stars in Leo have the word "Xuanyuan" in their names.

Xuanyuan is the name of Huangdi, the ancient emperor of China. The ancients named 17 stars after the Yellow Emperor. The names of this 17 star are Xuanyuan I, Xuanyuan II ... Xuanyuan XVII. This 17 star is like a dragon winding in the sky, which is very spectacular. In addition, Leo's Xuanyuan XIV is the closest star to the ecliptic. So sometimes it is covered by the moon.

This is the most beautiful Leo in the sky in spring. Are there any friends who are reading this article in front of their mobile phones who are Leo?