Star profile

Omicron 2 Canis Majoris

Variable star

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

What is Omicron 2 Canis Majoris

Omicron-2 Canis Majoris is a blue supergiant whose light takes more than twenty-seven centuries to reach us. It belongs to the Alpha Cygni family of variables —stars so massive they pulse slowly while burning their fuel at a furious pace. To watch it tonight is to glimpse a beacon ignited in the Iron Age, still travelling through the winter sky of the hunter.

Where it is and when to see it

Omicron 2 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 15° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 25° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 80° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 66° N.

It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 90 stars of Canis Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Sirius, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 2,800 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Omicron 2 Canis Majoris

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 3.02
Distance: 2764.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 105.756° · Dec -23.833°
Catalogue: HIP 33977 · HD 53138

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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