The Constellation Canis Major
by Dominic Ford
The constellation Canis Major.
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Source: Stellarium.
Source: Stellarium.
Canis Major is best known for the star Sirius, the brightest in the whole sky.
This, together with several other bright stars, make it a prominent resident in the southern January sky.
The Milky Way also runs through the area, and so it is littered with deep sky offerings, including the open cluster M41.
Canis Major is commonly represented as the larger of two dogs which run at the heels of Orion, and because of this, Sirius is sometimes called 'the dog star'.
It is among the constellations listed by Ptolemy in the second century, and is almost certainly Babylonian in origin.
Date First Appeared
Ancient
Ancient
Sky Area
0.9% of the sky
380.1 square degrees
0.9% of the sky
380.1 square degrees
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Sirius (mag -1.4) | NGC 2362 (mag 4.1) | NGC 2207 (mag 10.7) | |
| Adhara (mag 1.5) | Messier 41 (mag 4.5) | NGC 2280 (mag 11.1) | |
| Wezen (mag 1.8) | NGC 2354 (mag 6.5) | NGC 2325 (mag 11.2) | |
| Mirzam (mag 2.0) | NGC 2360 (mag 7.2) | NGC 2223 (mag 11.4) | |
| Aludra (mag 2.5) | NGC 2384 (mag 7.4) | NGC 2293 (mag 11.7) | |
| O²-CMa (mag 3.0) | NGC 2345 (mag 7.7) | NGC 2292 (mag 11.8) | |
| Furud (mag 3.0) | NGC 2367 (mag 7.9) | NGC 2272 (mag 11.9) | |
| σ-CMa (mag 3.5) | NGC 2374 (mag 8.0) | NGC 2217 (mag 11.9) | |
| κ-CMa (mag 3.5) | NGC 2383 (mag 8.4) | NGC 2380 (mag 12.5) | |
| O¹-CMa (mag 3.8) | NGC 2204 (mag 8.6) | IC 2163 (mag 12.6) | |
| ν²-CMa (mag 4.0) | NGC 2243 (mag 9.4) | NGC 2263 (mag 12.9) | |
| ω-CMa (mag 4.0) | NGC 2358 | NGC 2206 (mag 12.9) | |
| θ-CMa (mag 4.1) | NGC 2318 | NGC 2283 (mag 12.9) | |
| Muliphein (mag 4.1) | IC 456 (mag 13.0) | ||
| ξ¹-CMa (mag 4.3) | NGC 2271 (mag 13.2) | ||
| ι-CMa (mag 4.4) | NGC 2267 (mag 13.2) | ||
| τ-CMa (mag 4.4) | NGC 2227 (mag 13.4) | ||
| ν³-CMa (mag 4.4) | NGC 2295 (mag 13.6) | ||
| EW CMa (mag 4.5) | NGC 2296 (mag 13.6) | ||
| λ-CMa (mag 4.5) | NGC 2216 (mag 13.7) | ||
| ξ²-CMa (mag 4.5) | NGC 2211 (mag 13.7) | ||
| π-CMa (mag 4.7) | NGC 2212 (mag 14.5) | ||
| HD 56618 (mag 4.7) | IC 2171 (mag 15.2) | ||
| EY CMa (mag 4.8) | IC 452 | ||
| HD 47667 (mag 4.8) |