Constellation, Great Dog
Canis Major
The greater dog, the hound that follows Orion the hunter. It holds Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Canis Major rises at 1:41 AM, is highest at 6:20 AM (27° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 10:58 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Canis Major. Drag to look around.
Loading 3D view...
Drag to look around, pinch or scroll to zoom.
Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The constellation almost certainly began with the star Sirius alone. Ptolemy called the figure simply Kyon, the Dog. Aratus described it as the guard dog of Orion, following at its master’s heels, and it seems to chase the hare at Orion’s feet. Eratosthenes and Hyginus made it Laelaps, a hound so fast that no prey could escape it. Laelaps was sent after a fox that was fated never to be caught. Zeus ended the impossible chase by turning both to stone, and he placed the dog in the sky.
Sirius comes from a Greek word meaning searing or scorching. In Greek times its rising at dawn marked the start of the hottest part of summer, the dog days, and Greeks and Romans believed the star added to the heat. In Chinese astronomy Sirius was the Celestial Wolf. Mirzam, the star that runs just ahead of Sirius across the sky, takes its name from an Arabic word often translated as the announcer.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Canis Major
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sirius | α CMa | -1.44 | 9 light-years |
| Adhara | ε CMa | 1.50 | 405 light-years |
| Wezen | δ CMa | 1.83 | 1,607 light-years |
| Mirzam | β CMa | 1.98 | 493 light-years |
| Aludra | η CMa | 2.45 | 1,989 light-years |
| Furud | ζ CMa | 3.02 | 362 light-years |
| ο2 CMa | ο2 CMa | 3.02 | 2,764 light-years |
| Nganurganity | σ CMa | 3.49 | 1,121 light-years |
| κ CMa | κ CMa | 3.50 | 659 light-years |
| ο1 CMa | ο1 CMa | 3.89 | unknown |
Facts
| Area | about 380 square degrees (43 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | CMa |
| Sky | Southern sky |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, from older Greek tradition |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 30 |
| Centre (J2000) | 6.9 h, -23° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC2362 | Open cluster | 4.1 |
| M41 | Open cluster | 4.5 |
| NGC2354 | Open cluster | 6.5 |
| NGC2360 · Caroline's Cluster | Open cluster | 7.2 |
| NGC2384 | Open cluster | 7.4 |
| NGC2345 | Open cluster | 7.7 |
| NGC2367 | Open cluster | 7.9 |
| NGC2374 | Open cluster | 8.0 |
| NGC2383 | Open cluster | 8.4 |
| NGC2204 | Open cluster | 8.6 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.