Canis Major Constellation: The Greater Dog of the Night Sky

 Canis Major is a famous constellation because it is home to the brightest star of our night sky—Sirius. This constellation is also called the “Greater Dog” since it is bigger than Canis Minor, the “Lesser Dog.”

Canis Major Constellation aka The Greater Dog

Canis Major means “greater dog” in Latin. We can easily identify the Canis Major constellation because of the super-bright star Sirius. Its famous form has been recognized all over the world since ancient times. Claudius Ptolemy included it in the Almagest as one of his 48 constellations.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognizes Canis Major as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is enclosed in a quadrilateral or a four-sided polygon. With an area of 380 square degrees, it ranks as the 43rd largest constellation of today. Unlike other famous constellations, no meteor shower is related to Canis Major.

In addition to Sirius, the Greater Dog has many other interesting stars like the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris and the Wolf-Rayet star EZ Canis Majoris. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major. Because of that, there are lots of interesting deep-sky objects in this constellation, especially open clusters. Other deep-sky objects include Thor’s Helmet Nebula, the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, and a pair of colliding spiral galaxies, among others.

Canis Major belongs to the Orion family of constellations. There are five members of this group, four of which have a common Greek story, except the unicorn constellation.

Where To See the Canis Major Constellation

Canis Major, or the Greater Dog, lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. Specifically, it is in the second quadrant of the southern sky (SQ2). Its right ascension is 06h 12.5m to 07h 27.5m, with a declination of −11.03° to −33.25°.

Observers from around the latitudes +60o and -90o can see the Greater Dog. It indicates that this constellation is visible throughout the southern sky because of its southern declination.

Canis Major and Its Neighbors

How to Spot Canis Major

Orion is arguably the easiest constellation to spot. Since Canis Major chases after the celestial hunter in the night sky, we can use Orion’s Belt to find the big dog.

First, we have to look for the asterism or pattern of Orion’s Belt. It is made up of three stars, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. These stars form a diagonal line. If we try to draw an imaginary line connecting the three and extend it to Alnitak’s side, the line will point us to Sirius!

Canis Major Constellation: The Greater Dog of the Night Sky - The Planets