Star profile

Aludra

Eta Canis Majoris · Canis Major

Variable star

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

What is Aludra

Aludra is the tail of Canis Major, a blue variable supergiant whose light takes nearly two thousand years to reach us. What we see tonight set out when the Roman Colosseum still hosted games and the Empire stood at its greatest extent. The name comes from the Arabic «al-ʿadhrāʾ», 'the maiden', underscoring distance as the only way to touch the untouchable: a vast sun reduced to a trembling point on the winter horizon.

Where it is and when to see it

Aludra 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 Aludra

Constellation: Canis Major
Apparent magnitude: 2.45
Distance: 1989.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 111.024° · Dec -29.303°
Catalogue: HIP 35904 · HD 58350

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