Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris)

Altitude: 2.7° Azimuth: 123.7° Direction: East-South-East

Mirzam, also designated as β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris), is a variable and double bright giant star in the constellation of Canis Major.

Mirzam visual magnitude is 1.98, making it the 47th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Mirzam is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Mirzam:

Color of Mirzam ⬤

Magnitude of Mirzam 1.98

Class Bright giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 2.7°
Azimuth: 123.7°
Direction: East-South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Mirzam

Mirzam is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Mirzam are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 06h 22m 41s

Declination J2000 -17° 57’ 20”

Galactic Longitude 226.06°

Galactic Latitude -14.27°

Constellation Canis Major

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Mirzam in the sky:

Finder chart Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris) star

Simplified finder chart for Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris).

Visibility of Mirzam from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 108.0° RISE 21:09

Max altitude: 20.6° TRANSIT 1:36

Azimuth: 252.0° SET 5:58

Digitized Sky Survey image of Mirzam

The image below is a photograph of Mirzam from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Mirzam is -0.006 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Mirzam - β Canis Majoris (beta Canis Majoris) star

DSS2 image of Mirzam. The red arrow shows the motion of Mirzam during the next 100000 years (-10.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Mirzam from the Sun and relative movement

Mirzam is distant 499.23 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 34 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 153.14 pc

Distance (light year) 499.23 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 34 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.006 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Mirzam

Mirzam belongs to spectral class B1 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a bright giant star.

Absolute magnitude -3.95

Spectral Type B1II

Color Index (B-V) -0.23

Temperature of Mirzam 14354K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Mirzam is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of Mirzam. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Mirzam star system properties

Mirzam is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Mirzam double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 1.98

Secondary star magnitude 9.78

Magnitude difference 7.8

Separation 185.9 arcsec

Alternative designations of Mirzam

Proper Name Mirzam

Bayer designation β Canis Majoris
(beta Canis Majoris)

Flamsteed designation 2 Canis Majoris

Henry Draper Catalogue HD44743

SAO Catalogue SAO151428

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP30324

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-17 1467

FK5 Catalogue 243

General Catalogue of Variable Stars Bet CMa

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In Evidence

Other stars in Canis Major