Moon and Lion’s Heart rise mid-evening January 29 and 30

On January 29 and 30, 2021 – before going to bed – look in a general eastward direction to see the brilliant waning gibbous moon pairing up with Regulus, the brightest star and Heart of the Lion in the constellation Leo. From most places worldwide, you’ll see the moon and Regulus by mid-evening, that is, midway between your local sunset and midnight.

The moon will be very near Regulus on the evening of January 29. By January 30, the moon will have moved onward in its orbit – cruising ever-eastward in front of the stars – so that you might more easily see the prominent star pattern of which Regulus is a part. This pattern isn’t a constellation. It’s an easy-to-see asterism, or noticeable pattern of stars, in our night sky. It has the shape of a backwards question mark. Regulus, the Lion’s Heart, marks the bottom of the question mark pattern, which represents the Head and Shoulders of Leo. This beloved pattern is called The Sickle.

Read more about The Sickle in Leo

Want to know when the moon will rise in your sky? Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars, remembering to check the moonrise and moonset box.

Want to know the moon’s present position in front of the constellations of the zodiac? Visit this Heavens-Above page.

Want to know the moon phase for every day in 2021? Get the EarthSky Lunar Calendar. About to sell out. Order now!

Although Regulus ranks as a 1st-magnitude star – or one of the brightest stars in our night sky – Regulus is only the 21st-brightest star. You might have to look hard for Regulus in the moon’s glare on January 29, especially if you live in a city. If so, place your finger over the moon to block out its light.

Or wait a few days for the moon to drop out of the evening sky. Then you can always use the Pointer Stars of the Big Dipper to help guide you to blue-white Regulus and the constellation Leo the Lion. It helps to have an inky dark night to see the starlit figure of the Lion.

At a distance of about 77 light-years, blue-white Regulus is a larger and hotter star than our sun. Although it looks like a single star to the eye alone, astronomers assure us that it’s a multiple star system, consisting of several component stars. Regulus spins once on its rotational axis in less than 16 hours, in contrast to our own sun’s spin rate at its equator of 24 days. If Regulus rotated much more rapidly, this star would rip apart! Astronomers suspect Regulus’ companions might be responsible.

Normally, a star’s blue-white color indicates that the star is in the heyday of youth (only 50 to 100 million years old). But Regulus has a very close companion star which cannot be seen through the telescope but only detected with a spectroscope. It’s thought that Regulus’ companion could be a white dwarf star, in which case Regulus and its companion star would have to be at least a billion years old. Possibly, mass transfer of material from one star to the other in this close-knit binary star system acts as a fountain of youth, keeping Regulus young in its old age.

Bottom line: On the evenings of January 29 and 30, 2021, use the moon to find Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. Once the moon drops out of the evening sky, use the Big Dipper to star-hop to Regulus and the constellation Leo the Lion.