Star profile

Muliphein

Gamma Canis Majoris · Canis Major

Hot blue star

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

What is Muliphein

Muliphein shines in Canis Major, the constellation of Orion's hunting dog presided over by Sirius. Its name, from the Arabic «muḥlifayn», alludes curiously to «the two stars that cause false oaths» — an old Arabic label applied, by confusion, to several stars of similar brightness. A blue-white B-class star about 442 light-years away, it is a hot, young bonfire burning far off in the southern night.

Where it is and when to see it

Muliphein 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 23° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 34° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 72° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 74° N.

It ranks no. 14 in brightness among the 90 stars of Canis Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Sirius, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 440 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Muliphein

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 4.11
Distance: 442.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 105.940° · Dec -15.633°
Catalogue: HIP 34045 · HD 53244

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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