Procyon

Its story

Procyon, alpha of Canis Minor, is a solar neighbour just 11.5 light-years away. Its Greek name means «before the dog», because it rises in the sky shortly before Sirius, heralding the arrival of the Greater Dog. Its yellow-white glow, characteristic of an F-type star slightly hotter than the Sun, left its surface when a child born today was still learning to speak. It remains one of the nearest stars visible to the naked eye from the northern hemisphere.