Star profile

73 Leonis

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

What is 73 Leonis

73 Leonis glows with the orange tone of a mature K-type star, lying some three hundred and eighty light-years away in the constellation of the Lion. Its light departed when Galileo and Kepler were still exchanging letters, and reaches us today through the interstellar dust as a warm, discreet point. Leo traces the silhouette of the mythic feline in spring, and among the embers forming its mane this distant star quietly burns.

Where it is and when to see it

73 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 March, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 52° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 63° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 43° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 77° S.

It ranks no. 39 in brightness among the 80 stars of Leo in our catalogue. To find it, start from Regulus, the brightest: it lies about 17° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 390 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 73 Leonis

Constellation: Leo
Apparent magnitude: 5.31
Distance: 386.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 168.966° · Dec 13.308°
Catalogue: HIP 55016 · HD 97907

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Other stars in Leo

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

See all 80 stars in Leo