The brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor is also the eighth brightest in the whole night sky. What is its name?
Canis Minor Canis Minor is most prominent at 10 PM during mid-February. It is then seen earlier in the evening until July, when it is only visible after sunset before setting itself, and rising in the morning sky before dawn. The constellation's three-letter abbreviation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "CMi". Canis Minor contains only two stars brighter than fourth magnitude. At magnitude 0.34, Procyon, or Alpha Canis Minoris, is the seventh-brightest star in the night sky, as well as one of the closest. Its name means "before the dog" or "preceding the dog" in Greek, as it
Canis Major Canis Major Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to Canis Minor, the "lesser dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the "dog star". It is bright because