Star profile

Theta Canis Majoris

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Theta Canis Majoris

Theta Canis Majoris glows on the back of the Greater Dog as an orange K-type giant some 261 light-years away. An indirect neighbour of Sirius in the constellation’s outline, its warm ember accompanies the brightest star of the night sky without ever rivaling its stage, quietly shaping the silhouette of the hound that follows Orion through the northern winter. Its light, dimmed by distance, is the echo of deep nuclear labour inside a sun far older and more voluminous than our own.

Where it is and when to see it

Theta Canis Majoris lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

Write my signature

A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Theta Canis Majoris

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 4.08
Distance: 260.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 103.548° · Dec -12.039°
Catalogue: HIP 33160 · HD 50778

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Canis Major

Canis Major has 90 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 90 stars in Canis Major