Blue-white bright giant · Canis Major

Muliphein

Also known as: γ Canis Majoris (γ CMa), HIP 34045

mag 4.1440 light-years

About

Muliphein (γ Canis Majoris) is a blue-white bright giant of magnitude 4.1 in Canis Major, about 440 light-years away.

Muliphein is in the constellation Canis Major.
Best evenings: around late 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 64° 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.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
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	Muliphein
Designation	γ Canis Majoris (γ CMa)
Hipparcos number	HIP 34045
Type	Blue-white bright giant
Spectral type	B8II
Colour	Blue-whiteB−V colour index −0.11
Magnitude	4.1The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	440 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1580.
Proper motion	0.011″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Canis Major
Right ascension (J2000)	07h 03m 45.5s
Declination (J2000)	−15° 38′ 00″

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