Constellations · Constellation · Canis Majoris · CMa
Constellation
Canis Major
Orion’s larger hunting dog, carrying Sirius — the brightest star in the night sky, whose rising once announced the flooding of the Nile.
- Genitive
- Canis Majoris
- Area
- 380 square degrees · 43rd of 88
- Brightest star
- Sirius · magnitude -1.44
- Naked-eye stars
- 148 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- late December
History
The ancient Egyptians began their year when Sirius first rose before dawn in summer, the season the Nile flooded. The Greeks linked it to summer heat: our “dog days”.
Look for
Follow Orion’s Belt south-eastwards and it points straight at Sirius, which often flashes every colour when low — that is our own air, not the star.
Look for
Four degrees south of Sirius, binoculars show M 41, a cluster Aristotle may have recorded around 325 BC.