I have to admit that I've been remiss! Ever since early winter, the great constellation Leo the Lion has adorned our evening sky.

In January, at the start of those cold evenings, Leo was on the rise in the eastern sky and was visible all night long as it arced across the sky, setting in the west around sunrise.

Now at the brink of summer, Leo starts out in the evening in the western sky and sinks below the horizon shortly after midnight. All this is because of the never-ending orbit of the Earth around the sun as we're turning away from the direction in space where the stars that make up Leo are.

So this is your last chance to see the great star lion because by this time next month, Leo will be just about at the western horizon at the end of summer evening twilight. Before we lose Leo for 2008, let me tell you more about on the better constellations on the celestial stage!

I love to say, there's no question about what to look for when you're stargazing for Leo the Lion. That's because the main part of the constellation easily resembles a fairly bright backward question mark that outlines the chest and head of Leo the Lion. Even in the city lights it's fairly easy to see. It's one of the handful of constellations that doesn't require you to strain your imagination all that much to see what's it's supposed to be.

Just look in the southwestern sky in the early evening and you should see the backward question mark leaning to the left. The moderately bright star at the bottom of the question mark is a star call Regulus, a star more than 77 light years away, and if you're new to this column just one light year is equivalent to just under 6 trillion miles!

Regulus marks the heart of the lion. It's a star three to four times as massive as the sun and about three to four times the diameter of our home star. To the upper left of the backward query mark is a triangle of stars that outlines the king of the celestial beast's rear end and tail, with the star Denebola marking the tip of Leo's tail.

If Leo the Lion looks a little fatter this year, it's because it has devoured the great planet Saturn. In fact, as you can see from the diagram, Saturn appears to be in Leo's stomach, not far from Regulus, the heart of the lion. By far Saturn is the brightest starlike object in Leo, and as I've said many times, check out Saturn through even a small telescope. You'll see the ring system and maybe even a few of its moons that resemble tiny little stars swarming the ringed wonder of our solar system.

Not to worry Saturn fans, the ringed planet will escape Leo's gut as it wanders eastward among the stars. When we see it again in the evening next winter, Saturn will be shining below the giant feline's tail.

There are many legends and mythology stories about Leo the Lion. I think the best one comes from the Greeks, and it involves Hercules, the mighty hero.

He wasn't always a hero though. In fact, Hercules committed a hideous mass murder after being driven temporarily insane by his marriage to the evil princess Megara. He took an ax to her and all their kids. Hercules was immensely remorseful for his horrible crimes and wanted to make amends.

After consulting a wise man, Hercules pleaded his case to Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. The king assigned Hercules twelve great labors that he had to perform to atone for his sins.

His first labor was to slay Leo the mighty Lion. Leo was a definite terror of the land, devouring anyone that got in his way. Many a brave hunter tried to slay the lion, but became the lion's lunch.

Leo was so tough that normal spears could not pierce his hide. Hercules had his work cut out for him. He stalked the lion for weeks and weeks and finally opportunity presented itself. After gobbling down a fair princess for a mid afternoon snack, the beast laid down for a nap.

Moving as fast as he could, Hercules attacked the lion from the rear and went right for its thick neck. With his tremendous strength and his large hands, he struggled with the Lion for hours but finally choked the Lion with his bare hands! To commend his momentous accomplishment, the gods placed both the Lion and Hercules in the skies.

By the way, the fainter constellation Hercules can be seen in east in the early evening as summer begins, high in the evening sky. Check out the full June star map in last week's Starwatch column, or on my Web site, www.lynchandthestars.com

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of the book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web site www.lynchandthestars.com.