Gamma Leonis

Algieba is the name of the star γ Leonis (Gamma Leonis ) in the constellation Leo. The name comes from Arabic and means something like mane of the lion.

Algieba is a quadruple star system, in which the two main components in small telescopes (from 5 cm lens diameter) is separable. The angular separation of the components is 4.4 ", the position angle of 125 degrees.

The apparent brightness of the overall system is 2.0 like the main star alone has an apparent magnitude of 2.3 mag and belongs to the spectral class K0 IIIb to. The main star is about 4500 Kelvin hot and owns the 180 - times brighter than our sun; from this information can be the diameter of the star estimated to be about 23 times the diameter of our sun.

The second brightest star has a brightness of 3.5 mag and belongs to the spectral type G7 III on. Of the other two components, there is little data, so that the system is often regarded as a double star.