Constellation
Represents hunting dogs, home to the Whirlpool Galaxy.
| Type | Constellation |
|---|---|
| Area of sky | 465 sq° |
| Brightest star | Cor Caroli |
| Brightest star magnitude | mag 2.81 |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Zodiac constellation | No |
| Discovered | 1687 |
A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.
Canes Venatici covers 465 square degrees of sky, which is 1.1 percent of the whole celestial sphere.
That makes it the 38th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.
It sits in the northern sky.
Its brightest star reaches magnitude 2.81, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.
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