images

Constellation of Canis Major

by

Sebastian Voltmer/Novapix

Reference

a-cst37-00041

Date

2011-03-07

The brightest star in the sky is here, Sirius, the Dog Star, so called because its emanations were thought to affect dogs in the heat of summer, the 'Dog Days' when the star is in the same part of the sky as the Sun. Sirius is bright because it is only 8.6 light years from the Sun and it is in any case it is an intrinsically bright star, 25 times more luminous than the Sun.