| Name and Etymology | |
|---|---|
| Name | Canis Major |
| Translation | Big Dog |
| Abbreviation | CMa |
| Genitive | Canis Majoris |
| Position and Location | |
|---|---|
| Right Ascension | 07h 00m 00s |
| Declination | -20 00' 00" |
| Bordering Constellations | Columba Lepus Monoceros Puppis |
| Canis Major has been known for a extremely long time. Its name used to be known as Sirius, however this is the brightest star in the entire constellation. Therefore, the history behind Canis Major is utterly complex, since most of the dogs told by folklore has been associated with this constellation. Along with Canis Minor, the Greater Dog is connected with the constellation of Orion. The two groups of stars are said to be his hunting dogs. One positive way to locate this group of stars is first identifing "Orion's Belt," and tracing an imaginary line southeastward toward the very bright star Sirius. Canis Major is a southern constellation devoloped from long ago and was catalogued by Greek astronomer Claudias Ptolemaeus, or simply Ptolemy, during the second century. It still to this very day remains as one of 48 classical constellations of the night sky. |
 Canis Major, with Sirius marking its snout, shown in the Uranographia of Johann Bode (1801). |
 Canis Major as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Next to it are Lepus and Columba (partly cut off). |
Notable Features Canis Major is the 43rd largest constellation in the night sky, encompassing a total area of 380 square degrees. Though it is a medium size constellation, it can best be observed between latitudes +60 and -90 degrees, and can be seen throughout the whole month of February at 9 P.M. local time. Asterisms The brightest star in Canis Major, Sirius, belongs to two major asterisms- the Winter Triangle (or sometimes known as the Great Southern Triangle), and the Winter Circle. Stars Canis Major is a fairly bright constellation, and it is easily noticeable. It takes little creativity and effort to perceive the constellation as a giant dog. This constellation contains 32 Bayer and Flamsteed stars, and possesses four stars that has planets. Alpha Canis Majoris has the proper name Sirius, which comes from the Greek word for "Scorching" or "Searing." The star is situated at a given estiamted distance of nearly 9 light years from our solar system, and the bluish-white dwarf star is just about twice as dense as our own Sun however it is about 26 times as bright! Therefore, Sirius is the most brightest star within our solar neighborhood. Sirius is also a double star system, possessing a very close faint white dwarf counterpart, also known as Sirius B, which is approximately the identicle mass of our Sun, nevertheless its diameter is roughly 7,500 miles across! Adhara is the constellation's second brigtest star, and it is a binary star system which is situated some 430 light years from our Sun. The primary star possesses a magnitude of about 1.5 and is a hot blue star. HD 47536 is the brightest star within the constellation to contain planets. It is a 5th magnitude orange giant star situated some 400 light years from our Sun. VY Canis Majoris is a hypergiant star situated some 4,900 light years from the Sun. It is the largest and most luminous star known. |
| Bright Star | Magnitude |
| Sirius | -1.47 |
| Adhara | 1.50 |
| Wesen | 1.81 |
| Mirzam | 1.96 |
| Aludra | 2.43 |
Galactic Clusters Canis Major is situated within the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy, therefore it is obvious to say that quite a few galactic, or open, star clusters exist within the boundaries of the constellation. One popular cluster belongs to the infamous Messier catalogue of deep sky objects, M 41. M 41 is visible to the unaided eye and is partly seen through binoculars. The cluster of stars is situated some 4 degrees south of the bright star Sirius. Thus, M 41 is a beautiful object seen through low powered telescopes, and happens to be a must see for many deep sky spectators. One other galactic cluster is the Mexican Jumping Star Cluster, or simply Caldwell (C) 64. It is a surprisingly captivating group of stars encompassing the 4th magnitude star Tau Canis Majoris. In small telescopes, the object might exhibit the indication of a nebula aroud the star, however stronger scopes distinguish the stars into an abundant small grouping of about 40 or so stars. Nebulae As previously mentioned, Canis Major is situated along the fainter plane of our Galaxy, therefore several nebulae are present and a few of them resemble striking detail. NGC 2359 is also known as Thor's Helmet and is an emission nebula situated some 15,000 light years from our solar system. NGC 2327 is a reflection nebula situated on the border of the constellations of Monoceros and Canis Major. It is part of larger nebula called the Seagull Nebula. This nebula complex is located some 3750 light years from our Sun. Galaxies Even though a band of the Milky Way Galaxy runs through Canis Major, a lot of the distant galaxies are hidden behind interstellar dust and gas clouds, however, a few of them do make an appearance. NGC 2207 is a peculiar galaxy that is colliding with galaxy IC 2163. It is of overall magnitude 11.6 and is situated some 144 million light years from us. NGC 2280 is a spiral galaxy much like our own that we reside in. Its calculated distance is estimated to be about 75 million light years from the Sun, therefore, a snapshot of this far off island universe would reveal its light as when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth. The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is a very close satellite galaxy to the Milky Way Galaxy. It is primarily composed of red giant stars and is believed to hold over a billion stars. Its configured distance of about 25,000 light years from our Sun, and was first discovered in the latter part of 2003. |
| Deep Sky Object | Object Type |
| Mexican Jumping Star | Galactic Cluster |
| M 41 | Galactic Cluster |
| NGC 2354 | Galactic Cluster |
| NGC 2360 | Galactic Cluster |
