Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for "the smaller lion", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion (19th-century illustration of both pictured). It lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major to the north and Leo to the south. Leo Minor was not regarded as a separate constellation by classical astronomers; it was designated by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. There are 37 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 6.5 in the constellation; three are brighter than magnitude 4.5. 46 Leonis Minoris, an orange giant of magnitude 3.8, is located some 95 light-years from Earth. At magnitude 4.4, Beta Leonis Minoris is the second brightest star and the only one in the constellation with a Bayer designation. It is a binary star, the brighter component of which is an orange giant and the fainter a yellow- white main sequence star. The third brightest star is 21 Leonis Minoris, a rapidly rotating white main-sequence star of average magnitude 4.5. The constellation also includes two stars with planetary systems, two pairs of interacting galaxies, and the unique deep-sky object Hanny's Voorwerp.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Minor

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

230:

Pope Pontian began his pontificate, succeeding Urban I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pontian

1645:

Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issued an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle)

1774:

The Russo-Turkish War officially ended after the Russian and Ottoman Empires signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, with the latter ceding parts of the Yedisan region to the former. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1768%E2%80%9374)

1944:

World War II: American troops landed on Guam to liberate it from Japanese control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guam_(1944)

1970:

The Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after 11 years of construction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Dam

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mither: 1. (intransitive, Northern England) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan, bother. 2. (transitive) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at children. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Complexity is looking at interacting elements and asking how they form patterns and how the patterns unfold. It’s important to point out that the patterns may never be finished. They’re open-ended. In standard science this hit some things that most scientists have a negative reaction to. Science doesn’t like perpetual novelty.   --W. Brian Arthur https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Brian_Arthur