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Procyon in Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog) and Sirius in Canis Major (The Greater Dog)This ground-based image was taken by Japanese amateur astronomer Akira Fujii and shows the constellations Orion, Canis Minor and Canis major.Credit: Akira Fujii Source: esahubble.orgProcyon, the 8th-brightest star in our sky, is one of the brilliant stars in the Winter Circle/Hexagon, an asterism discussed here a couple of weeks ago. However, Procyon is also the primary member of a small constellation, Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog), the 71st biggest of the 88 “official” constellations in the sky.As it happens, in ancient Greek mythology, the constellation Canis (dominated by the star Sirius) was formed when Zeus elevated the fastest of all dogs to assist Orion (“The Hunter”) with capturing “The Hare” (Lepus) at his feet. Roman mythology added a miniature dog, almost directly above Canis, having excellent endurance to the hunter’s mix. Thus, Canis Major and Ca

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Carl J. Butz

Carl J. Butz

February 8, 2024

Procyon in Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog) and Sirius in Canis Major (The Greater Dog)

ProcyonEtAl_GS2.75.jpgThis ground-based image was taken by Japanese amateur astronomer Akira Fujii and shows the constellations Orion, Canis Minor and Canis major.
Credit: Akira Fujii Source: esahubble.org

Procyon, the 8th-brightest star in our sky, is one of the brilliant stars in the Winter Circle/Hexagon, an asterism discussed here a couple of weeks ago. However, Procyon is also the primary member of a small constellation, Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog), the 71st biggest of the 88 “official” constellations in the sky.

As it happens, in ancient Greek mythology, the constellation Canis (dominated by the star Sirius) was formed when Zeus elevated the fastest of all dogs to assist Orion (“The Hunter”) with capturing “The Hare” (Lepus) at his feet. Roman mythology added a miniature dog, almost directly above Canis, having excellent endurance to the hunter’s mix. Thus, Canis Major and Canis Minor were born.

As for Procyon, in Greek the name means “before the dog” and refers to Procyon rising slightly before the Sirius (The Greater Dog). For ancient Arabic astronomers, Procyon and Sirius were young sisters separated by a river (the Milky Way). Sirius jumped over the torrent. But Procyon was too frightened to leap. Since then, their tears have only added to the river's flow.

Meanwhile, one night early last week, during a short break in this winter's cloud cover, I was rewarded with a splendid view of the Winter Circle. Thanks to writing this column, I had no trouble naming all of the stars in the asterism. Wow, it was a great feeling.


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