Constellation Data

Name: CANIS MAJOR Translation: Big Dog Abbreviation: CMa Genitive: Canis Majoris Size: 43 RA: 7 hours Decl: -20 degrees Season: Winter Midnight Culmination: 2 January Pages where CANIS MAJOR is discussed in Chet Raymo's 365 Starry Nights: 3,16,21-30,45

What is the Genitive form? What is Right Ascension (RA)? Is this constellation ever visible from my latitude? What is Declination? Where should I look for a constellation on a date before or after its midnight culmination? What is Midnight Culmination?

Skylore

One of Orion's two faithful dogs, following him across the sky. Sirius, called Sothis or the Dog Star, was significant in Egyptian mythology, and its heliacal rising signalled the start of the Egyptian year in the third millenium B.C. This constellation has been associated with several mythical dogs, including the hound of Actaeon.

Description

South of Orion in the Winter Hexagon, near the horizon. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.

Legend: In the constellation chart above...
• Star colors represent their spectral types (even for double stars).
• Bright star labels are yellow; significant other stars are labelled in magenta.
• The size of each star indicates its relative magnitude.
• Constellation names are light blue.
• Grid lines represent either 10 degree intervals of declination above or below the equator, or intervals of one hour (=15 degrees) of right ascension (measured along the equator).
• Messier object numbers are pink.
• Galaxies are ovals: blue if spiral, yellow if elliptical, light blue if irregular.
• Globular clusters are gold starbursts.
• Open clusters are dotted white circles.
• Planetary nebula are green diamonds.
• Bright nebula are magenta squares.
• Dark nebula are grey rectangles.
• Green x's are x-ray sources.
• Purple O's with a diagonal slash through them are quasars.

Asterisms

Winter Hexagon

What is an Asterism?

Special Stars

Sirius, which takes its name from the Greek work for Scorching.

Table of 25 Brightest Stars.
What is apparent stellar magnitude?

Star Clusters

M41 (Galactic cluster), mag. 5.0.

What are Star Clusters?

Discussed in these Shows

• Stars of Our Neighborhood
• Cowboy Astronomer
• Starstruck Tonight

©1997 Welcome to the Basic Celestial Phenomena web site. To provide explanations of basic observational astronomy to students, teachers, families, and visitors to planetariums these pages have been written by an ex-OBU Planetarium Director, Kerry Magruder; the OBU Natural Sciences Coordinator, Mike Keas; and some of the students who work in the OBU planetarium.

The source for the logo is not a medieval woodcut!

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