Star profile

Adhara

Epsilon Canis Majoris · Canis Major

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Adhara

Adhara shines in Canis Major with the intense blue typical of its B class, drifting some 405 light years from here. Its name comes from the Arabic «al-ʿadhārā», the virgins, a small grouping that medieval astronomers placed at the feet of the celestial dog. The light arriving tonight set out around 1620, while Galileo was still defending his lunar maps before the Church.

Where it is and when to see it

Adhara lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 85° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 61° N.

It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 90 stars of Canis Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Sirius, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 410 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Adhara

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, 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 Adhara

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 1.50
Distance: 405.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 104.656° · Dec -28.972°
Catalogue: HIP 33579 · HD 52089

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