Abbreviation: Â CMi
English Name: Â The Little Dogs
Genitive: Procyon
Hemisphere:Â Northern HemisphereÂ
Location:Â Between the constellations of Cancer and Monoceros.
Visible between latitudes: Â +85 and -75 degrees
Best season:Â Winter
Seen in three season:Â Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Best seen in:Â Â February/early March
Seen between:Â December and April
Right Ascension (RA):Â 08 hour
Declination (DEC):Â +05 degrees
Area (square degrees): Â 183Â (71st)
Canis Minor (The Little dog)
- Canis Minor is a small constellation, and it has few deep-sky objects (DSO).
- It contains only two stars brighter than magitude +4.0.
- The Milky-Way passes through much of this constellation.
Messier Objects
- No Messier in Canis Minor.
Features of interest
- Procyon – it’s a white star and the 8th brightest star in the night sky at magnitude  +0.4.
- Procyon B – Over 10,000 times fainter than Procyon and orbits it every 41 years. The two stars appearing so close that only large telescopes can see them separate as two stars.
Named Stars
- Procyon (Alpha CMi)
- Gomeisa (Beta CMi)
Others
- Photo of the constellation – Canis Minor, as it appears to the naked-eye. (Lines have been added for clarity.)
- Sky Chart  –  Canis Minor
- List of stars in Canis Minor.
Back to The 88 Constellations Lists page.