Canis Minor
The Little Dog
A tiny winter constellation made of two stars, bright Procyon and fainter Gomeisa, forming one corner of the Winter Triangle.
- Best season
- Winter
- Best months
- January through April, high in the south on winter evenings
- Visibility
- Visible from everywhere in the United States
- Abbreviation
- CMi
How to find it
- Find Betelgeuse in Orion and Sirius in Canis Major. Procyon is the third corner of a large triangle, the Winter Triangle, to the left of Betelgeuse.
- Gomeisa is the fainter star just above and to the right of Procyon.
Brightest stars
- Procyon (white, one of the nearest bright stars)
- Gomeisa
What to look for
- The Winter Triangle of Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Procyon.
Using it to find other things
- Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse make a large triangle, the Winter Triangle.
About this constellation
Canis Minor is a tiny constellation, but Procyon is the eighth-brightest star in the sky and only about eleven and a half light-years away.
Its name comes from a Greek phrase meaning 'before the dog,' because it rises ahead of Sirius from northern latitudes.
Related guides
Visibility depends on your latitude, the date, and the time of night. The months above assume a typical evening from the contiguous United States, so use a planetarium app to confirm what is up tonight. Never look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope without a proper solar filter.
Star positions: Hipparcos and Bright Star catalogues via d3-celestial (BSD-3-Clause, © 2015 Olaf Frohn).