Canis Major

Constellation

Represents the greater dog, containing Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

Facts

Type	Constellation
Area of sky	380 sq°
Brightest star	Sirius
Brightest star magnitude	mag -1.46
Hemisphere	Southern
Zodiac constellation	No
Discovered	150

Canis Major in context

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.

Canis Major covers 380 square degrees of sky, which is 0.9 percent of the whole celestial sphere.

That makes it the 43rd largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.

It sits in the southern sky.

Its brightest star reaches magnitude -1.46, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.

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