OOOO
| Abbreviation: CMa |
| English Name: The Great Dogs |
| Genitive: Sirius |
| Hemisphere: Southern Hemisphere |
| Location: Between the constellations of Monoceros and Lepus. |
| Visible between latitudes: +60 and -90 degrees |
| Best season: Winter |
| Seen in three seasons: Autumn, Winter, and Spring |
| Best seen in: February (map) and March (map) |
| Seen between: October and March |
| Right Ascension (RA): 07 hour |
| Declination (DEC): -20 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 380 (43th) |
OOOO
Canis Major (The Great dog)
- This constellation is beautiful to look at the brightest of all stars – Sirius; the brightest star in the night sky!
o - Sirius, often called the Dog Star.
OOOO
OOOO
Messier Objects in Canis Major
| M41 – There is one prominent Open Cluster, magnitude +5.0, south of Sirius. |
Other objects in Canis Major
| Select Catalog | No of Objects |
| Barnard (B) | 0x object |
| Caldwell (C) | 2x objects |
| Collinder (Cr) | 15x objects |
| New General Catalogue (NGC) | 38x objects |
| Index Catalogue (IC) | 8x objects |
| Sharpless (Sh2) | 10x objects |
Features of Interest
- NGC2362 – Open Cluster; small and condensed, requiring a small telescope to be seen properly.
o
NGC4244 – Large edge-on spiral, found eight degrees west of Cor Caroli.
o - NGC4485 and NGC4490 – Two splendid galaxies in the same field: NGC4485 is more compact (this one is sometimes called the Cocoon Galaxy), while NGC4490 is larger and brighter. Located less than one degree northwest of beta CVn.
O - NGC4631 – Very large and bright, seen edge-on. Found in a rather barren field, six degrees south of Cor Caroli and two degrees west. In the same field are two more galaxies, NGC4656 and NGC4657, just southwest of NGC4631.
OOOO
OOOO
Named Stars
- Sirius (Alpha CMa)
- Murzim (Beta CMa)
- Muliphen (Gamma CMa)
- Wezen (Delta CMa)
- Adara (Epsilon CMa)
- Furud (Zeta CMa)
- Aludra (Eta CMa)
- more list of stars in Canis Major
oooo
oooo
Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Canis Major) | Best Seen in: February (map) and March (map) | Seen between: October and March |
IAU Sky Chart: Canis Major
OOOO
OOOO
Go To
Constellations – Visible from the UK
oooo
Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius |
(Only 10 of them even in part from the United Kingdom.)
oooo
Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
oooo
oooo
Back to …Constellation Names
OOOO