Canis Major (The Great Dog)

Home of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, whose dawn rising once timed the flooding of the Nile.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Sirius outshines every other night-time star, largely because it is only 8.6 light-years away.
• Egypt timed its calendar and the Nile flood to Sirius’s first dawn appearance each year.
• Sirius drags along a white dwarf companion, Sirius B, first spotted in 1862.

Specifications & Metrics

• BRIGHTEST STAR: Sirius (α CMa)
• HEMISPHERE: Southern (visible from most latitudes)
• BEST VIEWED: February