Yellow-white supergiant · Canis Major

Wezen

Also known as: δ Canis Majoris (δ CMa), HIP 34444

mag 1.81,600 light-years

About

Wezen (δ Canis Majoris) is a yellow-white supergiant of magnitude 1.8 in Canis Major, about 1,600 light-years away.

Wezen 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 54° 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.
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	Wezen
Designation	δ Canis Majoris (δ CMa)
Hipparcos number	HIP 34444
Type	Yellow-white supergiant
Spectral type	F8Ia
Colour	YellowB−V colour index 0.67
Magnitude	1.8The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	1,600 light-yearsThe light you see left it around AD 400. Distances this large are uncertain by 10% or more.
Proper motion	0.004″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Canis Major
Right ascension (J2000)	07h 08m 23.5s
Declination (J2000)	−26° 23′ 36″

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