Star profile

Tau Canis Majoris

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class O · ~30,000 K

What is Tau Canis Majoris

Tau Canis Majoris is the burning heart of the open cluster NGC 2362, a grouping so young that many of its stars still live wrapped in shreds of their natal gas. It is one of the very few naked-eye type O stars, a titanic blue forge some 3 000 light-years away whose ultraviolet light sculpts its surroundings. It is also a multiple system of several components and exhibits subtle variations that remind us how burning faster means dying sooner.

Where it is and when to see it

Tau 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

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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 Tau Canis Majoris

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 4.37
Distance: 2992.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 109.677° · Dec -24.954°
Catalogue: HIP 35415 · HD 57061

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