Star profile
Pi Canis Majoris
What is Pi Canis Majoris
Pi Canis Majoris peeks quietly from the mantle of the Great Dog, 96 light-years away, not far from the searing glare of Sirius that dominates the region. It is a yellow-white F-type star, slightly hotter than the Sun and far steadier, one of those lights that go unnoticed by sheer contrast with its famous neighbour. Whoever learns to find it discovers the elegance of mid-sized stars: the silent backdrop of the northern winter sky, without which the great names would have no outline.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi 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.
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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
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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 Pi Canis Majoris
- Constellation
- Canis Major
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.66
- Distance
- 96.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 103.906° · Dec -20.136°
- Catalogue
- HIP 33302 · HD 51199
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.
- SiriusAlpha Canis Majoris-1.44
- AdharaEpsilon Canis Majoris1.50
- WezenDelta Canis Majoris1.83
- 27 Canis Majoris4.42
- Lambda Canis Majoris4.47
- Xi 2 Canis Majoris4.54
- HIP 352054.66
- HIP 318274.82