Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Go outside in the late fall or early winter and look to the southeast. This is a winter constellation in the Northern hemisphere. The later it is at night the better the view of Canis Major you will have. Make sure that the horizon where you are looking for Canis Major is unobstructed, with few trees to block your line of vision.
Find the giant hunter Orion. Orion is the most conspicuous of star shapes, a rectangular figure with a “belt” of three close stars in a row with a “sword” hanging from it. The key to finding Canis Major is to follow an imaginary line down from the three stars of Orion’s belt to the brilliant star Sirius.
Once you find Sirius you can identify the rest of Canis Major. Sirius is the “Dog Star” and has been used to herald such things as the flooding of the Nile in Egypt and to navigate the Pacific Ocean by the Polynesians. Sirius is twice as bright as the next brightest star, Canopus, but its brilliance comes more from it being closer to Earth than almost any other star rather than it being the brightest star in the heavens. Sirius is 25 times brighter than the sun and twice as large. Sirius marks the heart of the mythical hunting dog.
Look down to the southwest of Sirius to see the back end of Canis Major. To the northwest of Sirius you will see a pair of stars that mark the dog’s ears while to the southeast of the bright star you will see one that marks a front foot. The rest of Canis Major is to the southwest of Sirius, with stars that form an upside down letter “Y” representing the back legs.
If it is a moonless night you should be able to see the loose open cluster M41. This group of stars is directly below Sirius just a short distance. It is visible to the naked eye but a pair of binoculars would enable you to view it much easily. It is over 2,400 light years away from us in space.