STORY
Leo Minor is a relatively new constellation, and has no myths associated with it. It was first depicted in 1687 in Johannes Hevelius’ Catalogus Stellarum Fixarum.
In 1845, the catalogue was revised by Francis Baily, who assigned Greek letters to stars that were brighter than magnitude 4.5, but he did not give the constellation’s brightest star the designation Alpha in his British Association Catalogue.
In 1870, the English astronomer Richard A. Proctor renamed the constellation to Leaena, or the Lioness, in an attempt to shorten constellation names in order to make them easier to manage on star charts, but the name was not widely adopted.
MAJOR STARS IN LEO MINOR
Praecipua – 46 Leonis Minoris
Praecipua is the brightest star in Leo Minor. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.83 and is 94.9 light years distant from the Sun. It has the stellar classification of K0+III-IV, which means that it is an orange star halfway between the subgiant and giant stage of evolution. The star has 1.5 solar masses, is 32 times more luminous than the Sun, and has a diameter 8.5 times solar.
46 Leonis Minoris was presumably intended to get the Alpha designation, but the English astronomer Francis Baily, who had decided to letter all stars brighter than magnitude 4.5, omitted the designation from his catalogue.
The star’s Latin name, Praecipua, means “the chief (star of Leo Minor).”
β Leonis Minoris (Beta Leonis Minoris)
Beta Leonis Minoris is the only star in Leo Minor that has a Greek letter name. It is the second brightest star in the constellation.
Beta Leonis Minoris is a binary star. The components have stellar designations G8III-IV and F8IV, which means that they are a yellow giant-subgiant and a yellow-white subgiant. The brighter star is 36 times more luminous than the Sun and has about twice the mass. It has 7.8 times the Sun’s radius. The companion is 5.8 times more luminous and has 1.35 solar masses. It has twice the solar radius.
The stars have apparent visual magnitudes of 4.40 and 6.12 and are approximately 146 light years distant from the Sun
21 Leonis Minoris
21 Leonis Minoris is the third brightest star in the constellation. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.49 and is 92.1 light years distant from the solar system. It has the stellar classification os A7V, which means that it is a white dwarf.
10 Leonis Minoris
10 Leonis Minoris is a yellow giant with the stellar classification of G8III. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.60.
37 Leonis Minoris
37 Leonis Minoris is a yellow supergiant belonging to the stellar class G2.5IIa. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.69 and an absolute magnitude of -1.84. The star is approximately 580 light years distant from the solar system.
20 Leonis Minoris
20 Leonis Minoris is another binary star in Leo Minor. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.40 and is 49.1 light years distant from Earth.
The system consists of a yellow dwarf belonging to the spectral class G3 Va and an old red dwarf of the spectral type M6.5. The two stars are separated by 14.5 seconds of arc.
11 Leonis Minoris
11 Leonis Minoris is another star system in Leo Minor. The primary star is a yellow dwarf belonging to the spectral class G8V. The star is a bit more massive than the Sun, and slightly dimmer. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.41. The primary component is classified as an RS Canum Venaticorum type variable, which means that it is a close binary star with an active chromosphere which can cause large stellar spots, which in turn cause variations in brightness. The star’s luminosity varies by 0.04 magnitudes.
The companion is a red dwarf of the spectral type M5V. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 13.0.
11 Leonis Minoris is 36.5 light years distant from the solar system.
HD 87883
HD 87883 is an orange dwarf star belonging to the spectral class K0V. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 7.56 and is approximately 59 light years distant from the solar system. It is believed to be about 9.8 billion years old.
A planet was discovered orbiting the star on August 13, 2009. HD 87883 b, the exoplanet, is a long-period planet; it takes seven and a half years to complete an orbit around the star.