The Moon and Leo

Second-chance ISON shower. When comet ISON was approaching late last year, it passed within two million miles of Earth’s orbit. Now on January 15, the Earth orbits through the same spot where the comet passed, which may mean we might see some meteor activity from the former comet’s debris stream—if there is any left.

The predicted radiant, the point in the sky from which ISON’s particles might appear to fly out from, happens to lie within the constellation Leo, the Lion, which rises during the early evening hours in the northeast. Leo reaches its highest point in the southern sky near 2 a.m. local time. For where to look in the sky for possible meteors, check out these handy sky charts from the American Meteor Society.

Moon joins the Lion’s heart. On Saturday, January 18, look for the 78-light-years-distant Regulus, the lead star in the constellation Leo to brush past the moon. The two celestial objects will appear to pass within five degrees of each other. When looking up at Regulus tonight, it’s amazing to think that its starlight left on its journey in 1935, when radar was invented, the Moscow subway opened, and Mutiny on the Bounty starring Clark Gable won an Oscar for Best Actor.

Leo the Lion is one of the earliest recognized constellations. The Mesopotamians are known to have documented the “lion” constellation. The Persians called it Ser or Shir; the Turks, Artan; the Syrians, Aryo; the Jewish, Arye; the Indians, Simha.

Leo is a highly recognizable constellation, as it is one of the few constellations that resemble its namesake. It is fairly easy to find because the “pointer stars” of the Big Dipper point to Leo.
Leo lies between Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east.

The constellation can be found by looking for the "sickle" starting at the Regulus (Alpha Leonis) star. Regulus, Al Jabbah, and Algieba, together with the fainter stars ζ Leo (Adhafera), μ Leo (Ras Elased Borealis), and ε Leo (Ras Elased Australis), constitute the sickle.

Another star in the planet is Al Geiba, the brightest star in the curve of the sickle, means "the lion’s mane." In January 2001, a large object eight times the size of Jupiter was discovered orbiting Al Geiba.

A triangle of stars forms the lion’s haunches, with the brightest star of this trio being Denebola, which means "tail of the lion."
There are a number of luminous galaxies within Leo, including the Leo triplet of M66, M65 and NGC 3628. The Leo Ring, a cloud of hydrogen and helium gas, orbits of two dwarf galaxies.

Mythology
Leo is the Nemean Lion, which was killed by Hercules on one of the 12 labors he had to perform for killing his family. According to Greek mythology, the lion that terrorized the citizens had a hide that could not be punctured by iron, bronze or stone. Having broken all of his weapons fighting the man-eating lion, Hercules finally strangled it to death and placed it in the heavens as one of his conquests.

Astrological Forcast for Leo:

Get ready to sink or swim! Another Full Moon means it's time to dive deep into emotional waters. But before you take the plunge, I have to warn you this one may require some extra navigation.

That's because this Full Moon is happening in hyper-sensitive Cancer. Navigating your emotions may be difficult now, and even simple situations could turn into dramatic nightmares. Full Moons are short-lived, but their impact can be powerful and lasting. Luckily,