Canis Major Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

The constellation Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Because of this, Sirius has been present in records since prehistoric times in mythology, religions, and customs of numerous cultures.

In Ancient Egypt, the star Sirius was known as Sopdet, Sothis, or Sethis and is symbolized by a dog. Hence the name "The Older Dog" will be recognized later.

Canis Major was the most critical constellation for those who studied astronomy in the past since the famous astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria used the star Sirius as the location of the earth's central meridian.

In Greek mythology, the constellation Canis Major has several associated histories; however, influencing previous cultures, all the stories were related in some way to a dog.

In one such story, Canis Major depicts the dog Laelaps, a gift from Zeus to the Phoenician princess Europa.

The constellation was more popularly associated with one of Orion's hunting dogs, chasing Lepus, a hare impossible to hunt as it was too fast.

In the modern period, Canis Major was relevant in the trade and navigation of Europe as explorers venturing east used this constellation as a reference point to travel through the desert at night.

In addition, during the boreal summer, the star Sirius is invisible or instead hidden from view, because of this, the astronomers of antiquity thought that the energy of Sirius was added to that of the Sun to produce the hottest days of the year or "can days,” better known today as "canicular days.”

Canis Major remains one of the most colorful and imposing constellations due to its excellent brightness.

Although it has been one of the most cataloged constellations throughout history, it has undergone very few modifications in its boundaries. It remains one of the brightest in the sky.

Canis Major is a medium-sized constellation. It covers an area of 380 square degrees in the celestial vault and ranks 43rd in size among the 88 constellations in the night sky.

Canis Major is a region teeming with deep space bodies of paramount importance to science and astronomy in scientific research.

Canis Major resides in the first quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (NQ1) at latitudes between 60° N and 90° S. We can see the constellation in the night sky from all countries of the southern hemisphere of the earth and some countries of the northern hemisphere.

Canis Major is visible in America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica.

Canis Major is not visible in areas above 60° N latitude, such as Finland, northern Norway, northern Sweden, northern Greenland, northern Canada, and Alaska.

Canis Major is a constellation that can be seen most of the year because it is relatively close to the equator; however, February is the best month to see it.

In the northern hemisphere, the Canis Major constellation is visible during the winter. In contraste, the Canis Major is visible during the summer in the southern hemisphere.

Depending on which hemisphere of the earth you are from, Canis major will be seen in different moments of the year and at different times of the day.

If you are in the northern hemisphere, you should look for it on the horizon, always looking south. In the southern hemisphere, you should look up near the Zenith.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Canis Major is to locate the brightest blue star in the sky, Sirius, a bluish-white star brighter than any other star but not as bright as a planet.

Canis Major is located right between the constellations of Monoceros and Columba.

The constellations bordering with Canis Major are Monoceros, Lepus, Columba, and Puppis.

In addition, the constellation Canis Major belongs to the family of constellations of Orion; these include Canis Minor, Lepus, Monoceros, and Orion.

The constellation Canis Major has 147 stars officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, of which 10 form the central figure of the constellation, are they Sirius, Adhara, Wezen, Mirzam, Aludra, Furud, Kappa Canis Major, Theta Canis Major, Muliphen, and Iota Canis Major.

Sirio is Canis Major's brightest star with an apparent magnitude of -1.46; it is a blue-white giant star that lies only 8.6 light-years from Earth, the seventh closest star to the sun.

Sirius is a binary star system of Sirius A, Sirius B. Sirius A is a white main-sequence star. Sirius B is a white dwarf with a mass very similar to the sun but the same size as the earth.

With an apparent magnitude of +1.51. Adhara is the second brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. It is located 405 light-years from the solar system.

Wezen is the third brightest star in the constellation Canis Major with a magnitude of 1.83; it is one of the giant yellow supergiant stars observables to the naked eye. It is located 1800 light-years from the earth.

Canis Major is also known as the home of several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies. In the case of Canis Major, he is rich in several notable galaxies.

The most notable deep sky body of Canis Major is the stellar cumulus M41 (NGC 2287); this is an open cumulus made up of 100 stars, is located 2300 light-years from earth, and was recorded by Aristotle from 325 BC.C.

• NGC 2362 is an open cluster composed of about 60 stars; the cumulus has an estimated age between 4 and 5 million years.
• NGC 2359: It is better known as thor's Helmet Nebula because of its shape reminiscent of a warrior's helmet. It is an emission nebula illuminated by wolf-Rayet's star WR 7. 
• NGC 2280: The brightest galaxy in Canis Major's constellation is a barred spiral located northwest of the star Adhara.
• NGC 2217: It is a barred spiral galaxy north of the star Furud.
• NGC 2207: It is a barred spiral galaxy of magnitude 10.8. 
• IC 2163 and NGC 2207 are two interacting spiral galaxies merging; it is located approximately 80 million light-years from our galaxy.
• Dwarf Galaxy: It is also classified as an unregular galaxy. It is considered the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, located just 25,000 light-years away.

• Canis Major has associated a wide variety of different stories. Still, it is always associated with the figure of a dog in all of them.
• Unlike most constellations in the southern hemisphere, Canis Major is a constellation that has been recorded for thousands of years.

• Canis Major is a constellation located in the southern hemisphere of the earth.
• The name of the constellation Canis Major comes from Latin and means "older dog.”
• The best month to see the constellation Canis Major is in February and it is between the latitudes of 60° N and 90° S.
• Canis Major is a southern constellation, but it is possible to see it from all northern hemisphere countries; it only ceases to be visible in those above 60° N.
• Canis Major is one of the easiest constellations to locate because it contains the brightest star in the night sky.
• The brightest star in Canis Major is Sirius, which has an apparent magnitude of -1.46.
• Canis Major's most notable  deep sky body  is the stellar cumulus M41 (NGC 2287).

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/canis-major-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-canis-major.html
3. https://www.calendario-365.mx/estaciones.html