Regulus is a complex star system with at least four members. The primarybluedwarfstar Regulus A forms a close binary pair with a companion star, thought to be a white dwarf. Around Regulus A and its companion, a second binary pair orbits at a distance of some 5,000 AU.
The faint and hazy patch of light directly northward from Regulus is Leo I, a dwarf spheroidal galaxy some 820,000 light years distant. Leo I is thought to be a satellitegalaxy of the Milky Way, and if so this would make it most distant such satellite of the Galaxy known. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
Regulus lies almost exactly on the Ecliptic, the apparent path
of the Sun through the sky. This means that, once each year, the Sun will
appear to pass directly in front of the star, an event which happens on or about the
22 August.
A comet pursues its lonely course around Regulus, the 'Royal Star' of Leo.
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