Chertan

Its story

Chertan is a white star on the flank of Leo, forming with Regulus and Denebola the back of the celestial animal. Its name comes from the Arabic «al-kharātān», «the two little ribs», for it was once counted in pair with a neighbour now less visible. At 165 light-years, its white light crosses space with the geometric sobriety of one whose role is, without flourish, to draw the line of a back across the sky.