The dog star, white dwarfs, the death of the Sun, and what they all have to do with one another
"What's the bright star to the south? Is that a planet?".
I've been asked that several times over the last month. ...
Dog Star
astronomy
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Sirius, the Dog Star, is one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Only the Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mars are brighter. Those that lived near the Nile River used the star to signal the flooding of the Nile.
Sirius, the Dog Star, constitutes Orion's left leg. It is part of Canis Major and has its own mythology. In some myths, it is Orion's hunting dog.
Sirius: (the Dog star) the brightest star in the night sky, used by the Egyptians as a means of determining the beginning of the Nile floods. See heliacal rising.
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(sr´s), or Dog Star, brightest star in the sky. It is located in the constellation Canis Major (1992 position R.A. 6h44.8m, Dec. −16°42&minut;); its Bayer designation is Alpha Canis Majoris. Sirius [Gr.
Sirius is the luminary of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog, which represents Orion's larger hunting dog, and as such is commonly referred to as the "Dog Star.
Nicknamed "the Pup" as the much smaller companion to the Dog Star, this much dimmer object is a white dwarf (DA2-5 or A2-5 VII). It is more than 8,200 times fainter than Sirius A and 360 times fainter than Sol.
Procyon means "anterior dog" in Greek, as it rises before the Dog Star, Sirius, of Canis Major.
Notable deep sky objects
Being such a small constellation, Canis Minor has no deep sky object brighter than 10 Mag.
Mythology ...
Procyon (also called Alpha Canis Minoris, Antecanis, and the Little Dog Star) is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor and the eighth brightest star in the sky. This yellowish star is also part of the Winter Triangle.
The island was plagued with famine and sickness, attributed in the legend to the scorching effect of the Dog Star (here, Procyon seems to become confused with the greater dog star, Sirius in Canis Major).
Indeed, it is often colloquially called the "Dog Star" as the brightest star of Canis Major, the "Great Dog" constellation. It was also classically depicted as Orion's dog.
Sirius (meaning "scorching" in Greek), also known as the dog star, is the brightest star in the sky (except for the sun). It is in the constellation Canis Major (The Great Dog).
The brightest star in the sky is here, Sirius, the Dog Star, so called because its emanations were thought to affect dogs in the heat of summer, the 'Dog Days' when the star is in the same part of the sky as the Sun.
In antiquity, as Homer and Hesiod were penning their stories, the Dog Star was already associated with the Sun, since the Sun enters that part of the sky in the hot summer months.
Within the constellation can be found the brightest star in the night sky Sirius, also known as the "Dog Star". The name Sirius is derived from the Greek word seirios which means "scorcher".
fixed statement that the North Star (Polaris) is also called the Dog Star (Sirius is the Dog Star), per an independent reader's feedback
slightly altered the text about our Galaxy on the main page, per an independent reader's feedback ...
Canis Major
The Big Dog is the parent constellation for Sirius, the Dog Star, which flickers low on the horizon.
Cassiopeia
This W-shaped constellation lying in the Milky Way is easy to find and contains some interesting Messier objects.
Sirius The bright jewel of our stellar neighborhood - the "Dog Star'' in the constellation Canis Major - is really a double star, and each member is remarkable among local stars.
Extending the belt of Orion to the southeast will lead you to Sirius the dog star in Canis Major.
Going across the shoulders from Bellatrix to Betelgeuse finds Procyon in Canis Minor.
The brightest star is actually Sirius, also known as the "Dog Star." Jupiter's surface is made of colorful clouds of gas.
Sirius is a double star. The companion, Sirius B, is also known as "The Pup," since it is the companion to the The Dog Star. Sirius B has a Visual Magnitude of 8.49, corresponding to a luminosity 1/400 times that of the sun.
the constellation Boötes
the star cluster Hyades
the constellation Orion
the star cluster Pleiades
Sirius, the Dog Star
the constellation Ursa Major ...
Canis major (The Great Dog) is a constellation near Orion. The brightest star in Canis Major (and the brightest star in the sky) is Sirius, also known as the dog star.
Canis Major is one of Orion's hunting dogs. The brightest star in this constellation is Sirius, often called the Dog Star.
This group comprises the so-called hydrogen stars with spectra dominated by the absorption lines of hydrogen. A typical star of this group is Sirius, the Dog Star.
Class F ...
Has a very small white dwarf companion. In Canis Major to the lower left of Orion. It is often called the "Dog Star". One of the 3 that make up the "Winter Triangle" (Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse).
In the constellation Canis Major lies Sirius (the Dog Star), the brightest star in the sky. Year after year, the same stars and constellations return, each in its proper season. Every winter evening, Orion is high overhead; every summer, it is gone.
[C95] (b) Also called Dog Star. An A1 V star 2.7 pc distant - the (apparently) brightest star in the sky. Its companion (Sirius B) is a white dwarf of about 0.96 M but only about 0.03 R. Period 49.9 years. [H76]
SIS Junction ...
Sirius is in a constellation called CANIS MAJOR (The Big Dog). The Ancients thought it looked like a dog. (The Ancients were very imaginative.)
Another name for Sirius would be alpha-CANIS MAJOR. It also has the nickname of "The Dog Star".
 See also: Star, Sirius, Constellation, Sky, Sun
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