| Canis Minor | |
| Abbreviation | CMi |
| Genitive | Canis Minoris |
| Meaning in English | the Smaller Dog |
| Right ascension | 8 h |
| Declination | 5° |
| Visible to latitude | Between 85° and -75° |
| Best visible | March |
| Area - Total | Ranked 71th 182 sq. deg. |
| Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3 | 2 |
| Brightest star - Apparent magnitude | Procyon (α Canis Minoris) 0.38 |
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| Bordering constellations | |
Canis Minor (the little dog) is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also in Ptolemy's list of 48 constellations. It is said to represent one of the dogs following Orion the hunter.
| Table of contents |
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2 Notable deep sky objects 3 Mythology |
Notable features
Canis Minor is a small constellation mainly consisting of two stars, Procyon (α Canis Minoris, 0.38m) and Gomeisa (β Canis Minoris, 2.9m). Procyon is the eighth brightest star in the night sky, and a part of the Winter Triangle. Procyon means "before the 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
The star Procyon was so called by the ancient Greeks as it rose before the (great) dog (Canis Major), but Canis Minor did not appear until Roman times as the smaller of Orion's hunting dogs. See also the constellations of Orion and Canis Major.