Explore the Universe - Canis Minor

Canis Minor is a sometimes overlooked constellation that hangs out in our sky during the Winter.

The myth of the Greek dog Laelaps hunting the Teumessian Fox discussed in the Canis Major blog has Canis Minor representing the Teumessian Fox.  Another Greek myth talks about Icarius of Athens who was a disciple of the Greek god Dionysus.  He fed wine to his shepherds but they thought he had poisoned them and subsequently killed him.  His daughter, Erigone, found his body and was so consumed with grief she killed herself.  Their faithful family dog, Maera, who had led the search for Icarius leaped off a cliff.  Dionysus was so saddened by the news he placed Icarius, Erigone and Maera in the sky for eternity as Bootes, Virgo and Canis Minor.  Canis Minor is placed alongside the Milky Way, a great river of stars so that Maera would never thirst.  An artistic rendering of Canis Minor is shown below.

Canis Minor (Artist Interpretation)

It was very easy to map the constellation as there are only a few Bayer stars contained therein.  It took only a few minutes to correctly identify the significant stars.  A map of the constellation is provided below.

Canis Minor Observing Record

The constellation does not contain any Messier objects and is home to one meteor shower, the Canis Minorids.  The Canis Minorids are a very minor shower occurring during the early weeks in December.  Although Canis Minor may seem like a small, insignificant constellation it contains the eighth brightest star in the sky -- Procyon.  Procyon is a relatively close star at 11.5 light years away and forms part of what is known as the Winter Hexagon.

The Winter Hexagon is Winter's version of the Summer Triangle.  It is a hexagon consisting of six very bright Winter stars from six constellations: Capella from Auriga, Aldebaran from Taurus, Rigel from Orion, Sirius from Canis Major, Procyon from Canis Minor and Pollux from Gemini.  Some astronomers refer to the approximate equilateral triangle of Procyon, Betelgeuse and Sirius as the Winter Triangle.

Winter Hexagon

If the sky is clear at this time of year, see if you can find the small dog!