Bright Star Regulus near the Leo 1 Dwarf Galaxy
Credit & Copyright:
Russell Croman
The star on the upper left is so bright it is sometimes hard to
notice the galaxy on the lower right.
Both the star,
Regulus, and the galaxy,
Leo I,
can be found within one degree of each other toward the constellation of Leo.
Regulus is part of a
multiple star system, with a close companion
double star
visible to the upper right of the young
main sequence star.
Leo I is a
dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the
Local Group of galaxies dominated by our
Milky Way Galaxy and
M31.
Leo I is thought to be the most distant of
the several known small satellite galaxies orbiting our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Regulus is located about 75
light years away, in contrast to Leo 1 which is located about 800,000 light years away.