Star profile

6 Leonis

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is 6 Leonis

6 Leonis is a K-type orange giant 500 light-years away, set within the head of the Lion —that inverted sickle ruling the northern spring. Its coppery light is the signature of a star that has burned through its core hydrogen and now glows from helium. The region also hosts the radiant of the Leonids, the most spectacular meteor shower of autumn.

Where it is and when to see it

6 Leonis lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

Write my signature

A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for 6 Leonis

Constellation: Leo
Apparent magnitude: 5.07
Distance: 499.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 142.990° · Dec 9.716°
Catalogue: HIP 46774 · HD 82381

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Leo

Leo has 80 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 80 stars in Leo