1-152-574 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Constellation of Leo, 1723. From Uranometria by Johannes Bayer. (Ulm, 1723). German astronomer and lawyer Johann Bayer (1572-1625) invented the system for naming stars using letters from the Greek alphabet, a system still used today for the brighter stars - those visible to the human eye without the aid of a telescope. Uranometria depicts the positions of nearly 1000 stars in addition to those identified by Tycho Brahe. A number of distant galaxies can be observed in Leo by astronomers, and the constellation is associated with several meteor showers, most notably the Leonids, which occur in November every year.