Small dog
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Constellation Little Dog |
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|---|---|
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| Latin name | Canis Minor |
| Latin genitive | Canis Minoris |
| Abbreviation | CMi |
| Right ascension | 07 h 06 m 39 s to 08 h 11 m 41 s |
| declination | + 0 ° 22 ′ 10 ″ to + 13 ° 13 ′ 26 ″ |
| surface | 183,367 deg² rank 71 |
| Completely visible | 89.6 ° N to 77.4 ° S |
| Observation time for Central Europe | winter |
| Number of stars brighter than 3 mag | 2 |
| Brightest star (size) | Prokyon (0.40) |
| Meteor streams |
Geminids |
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Neighboring constellations ( clockwise from north ) |
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| swell | IAU , |
 From the Uranometria by Johann Bayer . |
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The Little Dog ( Latin Canis Minor ) is a constellation north of the celestial equator .
description
The little dog is a little sprawling constellation south of the distinctive Gemini . The main star Prokyon is a strikingly bright, whitish shining star . The band of the Milky Way extends to the east of the constellation . The Little Dog can be seen in winter and is visible all over the world with the exception of Inner Antarctica .
Mythology and history
The little dog is one of the 48 constellations of ancient Greek astronomy , which were already described by Claudius Ptolemy .
He was regarded by the Greeks as a hunting dog and assigned to the bear keeper or Orion .
In ancient times, however, the constellation only consisted of the main star Prokyon. The name means "before the dog" in ancient Greek and refers to the fact that this star rises shortly before the "dog star" Sirius .
Celestial objects
Stars
| Bayer | Flamsteed | Names or other designations | Vmag | Lj | Spectral class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| α | 10 | Prokyon , Antecanis, Al Shira, Elgomeisa | 0.40 | 11.4 | F5 IV |
| β | 3 | Gomeisa , Algomeyla | 2.89 | 150 | B8 V |
| γ | 4th | 4.33 | 200 | K3 III | |
| HD 66141 | 4.39 | 220 | K2III | ||
| 6th | 4.55 | ||||
| ε | 2 | 4.99 | |||
| ζ | 13 | 5.12 | |||
| η | 5 | 5.22 | |||
| δ 1 | 7th | 5.24 | |||
| 11 | 5.25 | ||||
| 14th | 5.30 | ||||
| 1 | 5.37 | ||||
| δ 2 | 8th | 5.59 | |||
| δ 3 | 9 | 5.24 |
The third brightest star in Little Dog, γ Canis Minoris, is about 200 light-years away. It is a red giant star of the spectral class K3 with an apparent magnitude of 4.33 mag
Double stars
| system | Vmag (mag) | distance |
|---|---|---|
| α | 0.40 / 10.8 | 2.2 to 5.0 " |
| β | ||
| 14th | 5.4 / 78 | 76/112 " |
Prokyon (α Canis Minoris) is the eighth brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.40 mag. At 11.4 light years away , it is one of the closest stars. It is a binary star system . The main star emits a whitish light and belongs to the spectral class F5. It is six times brighter than our sun , twice as large in diameter and around 40 percent more mass. The companion is a faint white dwarf star that is only about twice the size of the earth. The system is difficult to observe because the bright main star outshines the companion.
The second brightest star in Little Dog, β Canis Minoris, is much further away at 150 light-years away. It is a bluish, gigantic double star belonging to the spectral class B8.
The name Gomeisa is of Arabic origin and means something like "the woman with the veiled look".
14 Canis Minoris is a multiple star system in which three stars move around a common center of gravity. Due to the wide angular distances, the system can already be observed with a smaller telescope.
Messier and NGC objects
There are no foggy objects in the Little Dog that can be observed with small or medium-sized telescopes.
