Regulus

stars · Leo constellation · space

Four stars, not one. Regulus looks like a single bright star when you look up at the night sky, but it's actually four stars organized into two pairs, all orbiting together in space.

Brightest in Leo. Regulus is the brightest object you can see in the constellation Leo, which is named after a lion. It's also one of the brightest stars visible from Earth.

Super far away. Regulus is about 79 light years from Earth, which means the light you see from it tonight left that star 79 years ago.

Alpha Leonis name. Scientists call it Alpha Leonis, or Alpha Leo for short, because it's the brightest star in its constellation and gets the first letter of the Greek alphabet.