Blue-white bright giant · Canis Major

Mirzam

Also known as: β Canis Majoris (β CMa), HIP 30324

mag 2.0490 light-years

About

Mirzam (β Canis Majoris) is a blue-white bright giant of magnitude 2.0 in Canis Major, about 490 light-years away.

Mirzam is in the constellation Canis Major.
Best evenings: around early 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 62° 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	Mirzam
Designation	β Canis Majoris (β CMa)
Hipparcos number	HIP 30324
Type	Blue-white bright giant
Spectral type	B1II/III
Colour	Blue-whiteB−V colour index −0.24
Magnitude	2.0The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	490 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1530.
Proper motion	0.004″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Canis Major
Right ascension (J2000)	06h 22m 42.0s
Declination (J2000)	−17° 57′ 21″

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