Canis Minor

Canis Minor

Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for ‘lesser dog’, in contrast to Canis Major, the ‘greater dog’ of Orion the hunter. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy’s 48 constellations.

About Canis Minor in brief

Summary Canis MinorCanis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy’s 48 constellations. Canis Minor contains only two stars brighter than the fourth magnitude, Procyon and Gomeisa. The 11 Canis-Minorids are a meteor shower that can be seen in early December. Its name is Latin for ‘lesser dog’, in contrast to Canis Major, the ‘greater dog’ of Orion the hunter. It was also given the name DAR. LUGAL, its position defined as ‘the star which stands behind it’ in the MUL. APIN; the constellation represents a rooster. The medieval Arabic astronomers maintained the depiction of the constellation as a dog; in his Book of the Stars, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi included a diagram with a canine figure superimposed on the constellation. There are two faint deep-sky objects within the constellation’s borders. The fourth-magnitude HD 66141, which has evolved into an orange giant towards the end of its life cycle, was discovered to have a planet in 2012. It is now assigned to Orion, as part of the Orion constellation, as well as both Canis minor and its modern home, the modern constellation of Orion. The name Canis Minor was sometimes connected with the Teumessian Fox, a beast turned into stone with its hunter, Laelaps, by Zeus, who placed them in heaven as Canis Major and Canis Minor.

In Greek mythology, Canismin was also connected with Eratosthenes, who accompanied the Little Dog with Orion, while Hyginus linked the constellation with Maera, a dog owned by Icarius of Athens. As a reward for his faithfulness, the dog was placed along the Milky Way, which the ancients believed to be the banks of a heavenly river, where he would never suffer as thirst of thirst. The meaning of MASH. TAB. BA evolved as well, becoming the twin deities Lulal and Latarak, who are on the opposite side of the sky from Papsukal, the True Shepherd of Heaven in Babylonian mythology. This name may have also referred to the constellation Lepus, which may have been denoted DAR. MUŠEN and DAR. MUGAL in Babylonia. The Ancient Greeks called the constellation προκυνProcyon, “coming before the dog”, transliterated into Latin as Antecanis, Praecan is, or variations thereof, by Cicero and others. The Arabic names for both stars alluded to their proximity to their home, and their modern home—the collar of the dog and its home, both  and its home—and its proximity to Orion. There is one slight difference between the vision of CanisMinor and the Arabic; Mirzam Mirzufi claims to have claimed to have seen the constellation in Arabic.