Constellations of the Month: March – Canis Minor:
We continue March with the next constellation of the month, Canis Minor, “The Smaller Dog” or “The Lesser Dog.”

Canis Minor constellation map courtesy of Openverse

Canis Minor, “The Smaller Dog” or “The Lesser Dog” – Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern sky, meaning “the smaller dog” in Latin. It represents one of Orion’s dogs in Greek mythology, with Canis Major being the larger dog. Catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, Canis Minor includes Procyon, one of the brightest stars, Luyten’s Star, and the spiral galaxy NGC 2485.

NGC 2485 SDSS 2 courtesy of Openverse

Key points regarding Canis Minor:

• Meaning: The term “Canis Minor” translates to “The Smaller Dog” or “The Lesser Dog” in Latin.
• Notable stars: Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor and the seventh brightest star in the sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.34. It’s not very bright itself but is close to the Sun, at 11.41 light years away, making it the 13th nearest star system. The name Procyon comes from Greek, meaning “before the dog,” as it rises before Sirius, the Dog Star, in the northern sky. Procyon is a binary star system, consisting of Procyon A, a white main sequence star with 1.4 solar masses and 7.5 times the Sun’s luminosity, and Procyon B, a faint white dwarf. Life is unlikely in Procyon’s system due to unstable orbits in the habitable zone and high ultraviolet emissions harmful to life. Gomeisa is about 170 light years away with a mean apparent magnitude of 2.89. Its name means “the bleary-eyed woman” in Arabic. Gamma CMi is a double star system around 398 light years from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 4.33 and an orange K-type giant as the main star. G Canis Minoris is another binary star approximately 261 light years away, also an orange K-type giant. Luyten’s Star, a faint red dwarf 12.36 light years away, has an apparent magnitude of 9.87 and is moving away from the solar system. It was named after Willem Jacob Luyten, the astronomer who discovered its motion.
• Other features: Canis Minor is home to several deep-sky objects, though they are predominantly faint and challenging to view. The most luminous among them is the spiral galaxy NGC 2485, which has an apparent magnitude of 12.4. This galaxy is situated 3.5 degrees to the northeast of Procyon, with coordinates of 07:56:48.7 for right ascension and +07:28:39 for declination.
• Mythology: In mythology, Canis Minor is commonly seen as one of the dogs following Orion, the hunter in Greek mythology. Another story relates it to Maera, the dog of Icarius, a wine-maker who was killed by shepherds who thought he poisoned them after they tasted wine for the first time. Maera discovered Icarius’ body and rushed to find his daughter Erigone. Overcome with sorrow, they both took their own lives. Zeus later honored them by placing their images in the sky. According to this myth, Icarius connects to Boötes, Erigone to Virgo, and Maera to Canis Minor. Hyginus, a Latin author, muddled the story in his writings, claiming the shepherds fled to Ceos where a plague and famine struck due to the blazing Dog Star, Sirius. This mix-up included Procyon, which is mistakenly referred to as Sirius. In another tale, Canis Minor represents the Teumessian fox, which could not be caught and was turned to stone by Zeus alongside its hunter, Laelaps, who is symbolized by Canis Major. Zeus placed both in the sky to remember the event.
• Visibility: Canis Minor is the 71^st largest constellation, covering 183 square degrees. It is one of 15 equatorial constellations and is located in the northern hemisphere, visible at latitudes from +90° to -75°. Neighboring constellations include Cancer, Gemini, Hydra, and Monoceros. Its name means “Lesser Dog” in English, and its genitive form is Canis Minoris. The abbreviation CMi was adopted by the IAU in 1922. Canis Minor belongs to the Orion family. The brightest star is Procyon, which is the seventh brightest in the sky. It has two named stars: Gomeisa and Procyon, and is associated with the Canis-Minorids meteor shower.

⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

Constellations:

Canis Minor | Kleiner Hund courtesy of Openverse

Constellations of the Month:
March – Canis Minor

Material may be shared for personal and educational use, Share with family and friends. The material cannot be used in an educational setting whereby a “book fee” is charged in or above tuition costs, and the material here is being used without paying a licensing fee.. AI must file an application for use of such material.

You May Also Like. . .
NASA 1997 Liftoff Special	NASA Mission Patch Party

Constellations of the Month: Coming all 2025!