Constellation, Lesser Dog
Canis Minor
The lesser dog, Orion’s smaller hound. Its bright star Procyon means before the dog, because it rises just ahead of Sirius.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Canis Minor rises at 12:32 AM, is highest at 7:01 AM (57° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 1:33 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Canis Minor. Drag to look around.
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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
Canis Minor began as just the bright star Procyon, and the Greeks used that name for the whole figure. It is usually seen as the smaller of Orion’s two dogs. Hyginus told a different Greek story, in which it is Maera, the faithful dog of Icarius of Attica. Shepherds killed Icarius, thinking his wine had poisoned them. Maera led his daughter Erigone to the body, and both took their own lives. Zeus placed them among the stars. Ptolemy listed only two stars in the figure, so artists were free to draw the dog as they wished.
Procyon comes from Greek for before the dog, because it rises earlier than the greater dog and its star Sirius. In an Arabic tale Procyon and Sirius were sisters. Sirius crossed the Milky Way, and Procyon stayed behind, her eyes dimmed with tears. That gave Procyon the Arabic name for the bleary-eyed one, now used as Gomeisa for the second star of the figure. Chinese astronomers made Procyon and its neighbours the Southern River.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Canis Minor
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procyon | α CMi | 0.40 | 12 light-years |
| Gomeisa | β CMi | 2.89 | 162 light-years |
| γ CMi | γ CMi | 4.33 | 318 light-years |
| HIP 39311 | HIP 39311 | 4.39 | 254 light-years |
| 6 CMi | 6 CMi | 4.55 | 572 light-years |
| ε CMi | ε CMi | 4.99 | 1,042 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 183 square degrees (71 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | CMi |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, as a figure of only two stars |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 6 |
| Centre (J2000) | 7.6 h, 8° |
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.
No deep-sky object brighter than magnitude 9.
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.