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The Moon slides between two of the brighter stars of Leo tonight. They all climb into good view in mid-evening. Regulus, the lion\\u2019s brightest star, will stand to the lower right of the Moon. And Algieba, the third-brightest, will be about the same distance to the lower left. The Moon will pass between them during the night.

It\\u2019ll actually pass much closer to a third member of the constellation, Eta Leonis. The star is a good bit fainter than the other two, so it\\u2019s harder to see through the Moon\\u2019s glare. But the Moon will pass within about a degree of it \\u2014 half the width of your finger held at arm\\u2019s length.

Eta Leonis looks fainter than Regulus and Algieba mainly because it\\u2019s almost 1300 light-years away \\u2014 hundreds of light-years farther than the other two.

The star is big, bright, heavy, and hot \\u2014 about 10 times as massive as the Sun, and perhaps 20,000 times brighter. It\\u2019s so heavy that it\\u2019s likely to end its life as a supernova \\u2014 a titanic explosion that\\u2019ll rip the star to bits. Only its dead core will remain \\u2014 probably a neutron star \\u2014 a superdense ball more massive than the Sun but only a few miles across.

There are hints that Eta Leonis might have one or more companion stars. So far, though, astronomers haven\\u2019t been able to confirm any of them.

Watch as the Moon slides just past Eta Leonis during the night. Binoculars will help you pick out this impressive but tough-to-see star.
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Script by Damond Benningfield

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