Blue-white bright giant · Canis Major

Adhara

Also known as: ε Canis Majoris (ε CMa), HIP 33579

mag 1.5410 light-years

About

Adhara (ε Canis Majoris) is a blue-white bright giant of magnitude 1.5 in Canis Major, about 410 light-years away.

Adhara is in the constellation Canis Major.
Best evenings: around mid-February it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 51° N.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesEasy, even from town. It looks blue-white.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Adhara
Designation	ε Canis Majoris (ε CMa)
Hipparcos number	HIP 33579
Type	Blue-white bright giant
Spectral type	B2II
Colour	Blue-whiteB−V colour index −0.21
Magnitude	1.5The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	410 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1620.
Proper motion	0.003″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Canis Major
Right ascension (J2000)	06h 58m 37.6s
Declination (J2000)	−28° 58′ 20″

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →