Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. It has the Bayer designation α Canis Minoris, which is Latinized to Alpha Canis Minoris, and abbreviated α CMi or Alpha CMi, respectively. As determined by the European Space Agency Hipparcos astrometry satellite, this system lies at a distance of just 11.46 light-years, and is therefore one of Earth's nearest stellar neighbors.
Procyon (top left), Betelgeuse (top right) and Sirius (bottom) form the Winter Triangle. Orion is to the right. Viewed from Northern Hemisphere
Orbit of Procyon B seen from above its plane
Canis 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, and it is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "lesser dog", in contrast to Canis Major, the "greater dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter.
Canis Minor, as depicted by Johann Bode in his 1801 work Uranographia
The constellation Canis Minor can be seen alongside Monoceros and the obsolete constellation Atelier Typographique in this 1825 star chart from Urania's Mirror.
The constellation Canis Minor as it can be seen by the naked eye
Nebula Abell 24
