Star profile
Procyon
Alpha Canis Minoris · Canis Minor
Nearby starWhat is Procyon
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.
Where it is and when to see it
Procyon lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. 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.
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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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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 Procyon
- Constellation
- Canis Minor
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.40
- Distance
- 11.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 114.825° · Dec 5.225°
- Catalogue
- HIP 37279 · HD 61421
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 Minor
Canis Minor has 25 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- GomeisaBeta Canis Minoris2.89
- Gamma Canis Minoris4.33
- HIP 393114.39
- 6 Canis Minoris4.55
- Epsilon Canis Minoris4.99
- Zeta Canis Minoris5.12
- Eta Canis Minoris5.22
- Delta 1 Canis Minoris5.24