The figure in the sky: north is up, east is to the left. Larger dots are brighter stars.

Constellation

Canis Major

The shape: a stick-figure dog below dazzling Sirius.

Canis Major, the Great Dog, is Orion's hunting dog. Sirius is the brightest star in the whole night sky and only 8.6 light-years away. In ancient Egypt its appearance in the morning sky heralded the flooding of the Nile. The hot “dog days” of summer are named after it.

The stars of the figure

From bright to faint. Brightness is given in magnitudes (mag): the smaller the number, the brighter the star.

Sirius · -1.46 mag
Adhara · 1.5 mag
Wezen · 1.84 mag
Mirzam · 1.98 mag
Aludra · 2.45 mag

In the 3D model

In the 3D model, under “Explore”, the sky dome shows when the constellation Canis Major can be seen above Switzerland. “Constellations in 3D” shows how far apart its stars really are.

← Sagittarius Canis Minor →