Procyon - α Canis Minoris (alpha Canis Minoris)

Below the horizon. Rise: 10:22 | Tran: 16:46 | Set: 23:10

Alt: -11.91° Az: 294.37° Direction: West-North-West

Procyon, also designated as α Canis Minoris (alpha Canis Minoris), is a variable and multiple sub-giant star of spectral class F5 in the constellation of Canis Minor.

Procyon visual magnitude is 0.38, making it the 8th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Procyon is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of Procyon - α Canis Minoris (alpha Canis Minoris) star

DSS2 image of Procyon. The red arrow shows the motion of Procyon during the next 100 years (-1.18 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.71 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 07h 40m 38s

Declination +05° 09’ 55”

Hour Angle 07h 46m 01s

Sidereal Time 15h 26m 39s

J2000

Right Ascension 07h 39m 18s

Declination +05° 13’ 29”

Galactic Coordinates

Galactic Longitude 213.69°

Galactic Latitude 13.03°

Finder Chart

Loading map...

Finder chart for Procyon - α Canis Minoris (alpha Canis Minoris).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

Color ⬤

Magnitude 0.38

Class Sub-giant

Absolute magnitude 2.66

Spectral Type F5IV

Color Index (B-V) 0.42

Temperature 6776K

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

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

Star System Properties

Procyon 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 Procyon double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 0.38

Secondary star magnitude 10.78

Magnitude difference 10.4

Separation 4.6 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

Procyon is distant 11.40 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 3 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 3.50

Distance (light year) 11.40

Radial Speed -3 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.71 arcsec/y

Proper Motion Dec -1.023"/y

Alternative Designations

Proper Name Procyon

Bayer designation α Canis Minoris
(alpha Canis Minoris)

Flamsteed designation 10 Canis Minoris

Henry Draper Catalogue HD61421

SAO Catalogue SAO115756

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP37279

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+05 1739

Gliese Catalogue Gl 280 A

FK5 Catalogue 291

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 3672

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS6251

Visibility from Your Location

Today's Procyon - α Canis Minoris (alpha Canis Minoris) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, UK are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 84.8° RISE 10:22

Max altitude: 43.7° TRANSIT 16:46

Azimuth: 275.2° SET 23:10

Set Location

Other stars in Canis Minor