drawings of where to look are at the citation

from
https://www.space.com/mars-red-planet-blue-star-regulus-july-2023

See the Red Planet Mars shine beside the blue star Regulus tonight
By Brett Tingley published about 9 hours ago
Look to the western skies to see the Red Planet, Mars, shining steadily
above the twinkling blueish star Regulus.

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July 10, 2023 at 8:50 pm - Mars Meets Regulus, near Venus, in the sky
(Image credit: Starry Night Software)
The night sky makes for an interesting pairing of targets this evening
(July 10).

As soon as the sun sets, look to the western skies to see the Red
Planet, Mars, shining steadily above the twinkling blueish star Regulus.
The pair will set shortly after 10 p.m. ET (0200 GMT on July 11), so be
sure to get out as soon as it gets dark.

To find Mars and Regulus, it might be easiest to first spot one of the
early evening sky's brightest objects: Venus. Venus is still quite
bright in the night sky, coming off its brightest appearance on July 7.
Look for a large, bright orb to the west; you can't miss it. Once you've
found Venus, look just above and to the left of it to find Regulus. Mars
will be just above the star, not incredibly bright but still easy to
make out as a steady orange light.

Related: Mars and Venus leave the night sky this month. Here's how to
say goodbye

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TOP TELESCOPE PICK:
A Celestron telescope on a white background

(Image credit: Celestron)
Looking for a telescope to see Mars, Regulus or anything else in the
night sky? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in
our best beginner's telescope guide.

Regulus, also known as Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in the Leo
constellation, the Lion, in addition to being one of the brightest stars
of the Northern Hemisphere's night sky. Regulus will be at around
magnitude +1.4, making it fairly easy to see with the unaided eye next
to Mars shining at magnitude +1.7. (The lower the magnitude, the
brighter the object appears to our eyes.)

In the night sky, Regulus appears as a single blue-white star, but is
actually part of a quadruple star system. A binary pair made up of an
orange dwarf and a red dwarf lurk nearby at 4,200 Earth-sun distances,
while researchers believe a dead star known as a white dwarf could also
be located close by.

a blue star in the night sky

Close-up of Regulus, the brightest star of the constellation of Leo (The
Lion). (Image credit: Christophe Lehenaff/Getty Images)
Regulus is something of an oddball, rotating much faster than most stars
at 700,000 mph (1.1 million kph) at its equator. For comparison, the
sun's rotation is about 4,500 mph (7,242 kph) at its equator. The star's
spin is so intense that it bulges out in its center to a diameter of
about 4.2 times that of Earth's sun. If Regulus spun just 10% faster, it
would rip itself apart.

If you are hoping to catch a look at Mars or Regulus up close, our
guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to
start.

And if you're looking to snap photos of Mars or the night sky in
general, check out our guide on how to photograph the planets, as well
as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for
astrophotography.

Editor's Note: If you snap an image of Mars near Regulus and would like
to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and
your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions,
night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment,
let us know at: community@space.com.

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Brett Tingley
Brett Tingley
Editor, Space.com
Brett is a science and technology journalist who is curious about
emerging concepts in spaceflight and aerospace, alternative launch
concepts, anti-satellite technologies, and uncrewed systems. Brett's
work has appeared on The War Zone at TheDrive.com, Popular Science, the
History Channel, Science Discovery, and more. Brett has English degrees
from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte. In his free time, Brett is a working musician, a hobbyist
electronics engineer and cosplayer, an avid LEGO fan, and enjoys hiking
and camping throughout the Appalachian Mountains with his wife and two
children.