Sky Guide February 2024

Constellations are groups of stars that represent mythological figures, fanciful beasts or old scientific instruments. Some have been used for millennia as a tool to share significant cultural stories and to track the passage of the weeks and months. Today they also help astronomers mark out portions of the sky and locate astronomical objects. Those listed below have been selected for their visibility in the evening up to two hours after sunset in the southern hemisphere.

Canis Major the Greater Dog and companion to Orion the hunter is the brightest star in the constellation Sirius (also known as the Dog Star). It is also the brightest in the night sky as it is close to us – only 8.7 light years away or about 82 million million kilometres and 25 times brighter than the Sun. In about 64,000 years it will be seen as the southern polar star due to the Earth’s wobbling axis of rotation and the star’s proper motion.

Canis Minor the Lesser Dog is an obscure and small constellation usually ignored in the search for its dominant companion, Canis Major, the Greater Dog. To find its one bright star, face north in March – April and look for Sirius in Canis Major. Roughly one hand span (with your hand at arm’s length) below Sirius is the bright star Procyon. And Procyon is just about all there is to the Lesser Dog! Like many constellations it looks nothing like its name. The star’s name comes from the Greek meaning ’before the dog’ and indeed it does rise before bright Sirius and Canis Major from the latitudes of ancient Greece. Canis Minor and Canis Major together are Orion’s hunting dogs.