Blue-white bright giant · Canis Minor
ζ Canis Minoris
Also known as: ζ CMi, HIP 38373
mag 5.1620 light-years
About
ζ Canis Minoris is a blue-white bright giant of magnitude 5.1 in Canis Minor, about 620 light-years away.
How to find it
- ζ Canis Minoris is in the constellation Canis Minor.
- Best evenings: around early March 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 north of 78° S.
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.
What you will see
- EyesNeeds a dark sky away from city lights.
- 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.
Facts
| Designation | ζ Canis Minoris (ζ CMi) |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 38373 |
| Type | Blue-white bright giant |
| Spectral type | B8II |
| Colour | Blue-whiteB−V colour index −0.12 |
| Magnitude | 5.1The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 620 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1400. |
| Proper motion | 0.015″ per year across the sky |
| Constellation | Canis Minor |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 07h 51m 42.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +01° 46′ 01″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →