Sirius - α Canis Majoris (alpha Canis Majoris)
Sirius, also designated as α Canis Majoris (alpha Canis Majoris), is a multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Canis Major.
Sirius visual magnitude is -1.46. Thanks to its high brightness, Sirius 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 Sirius:
Sirius - α Canis Majoris (alpha Canis Majoris) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
Altitude: -18.3°
Azimuth: 94.1°
Direction: East
Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Sirius
Sirius 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 Sirius are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of Sirius in the sky:

Visibility of Sirius from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Sirius - α Canis Majoris (alpha Canis Majoris) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Digitized Sky Survey image of Sirius
The image below is a photograph of Sirius 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 Sirius is -0.553 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -1.205 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100 years is represented with the red arrow.

Distance of Sirius from the Sun and relative movement
Sirius is distant 8.60 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 8 kilometers per second.
Spectral properties of Sirius
Sirius belongs to spectral class A1 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where Sirius is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

Sirius star system properties
Sirius 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 Sirius double sysyem: