---
name: Procyon (α Cmi)
constellation: CMi
created_by: 8mag
created_date: 2022-01-21 17:00:00
updated_by: skybber
updated_date: 2022-01-22 21:53:38.462160
---
means "before the dog" in Greek, because when viewed from most places in the northern hemisphere it rises slightly earlier than Sirius, the Dog Star. It is the eighth brightest star in the sky (0.5mag) and one of the closest, being 11.4 light years away. Among the bright stars, only Alpha Centauri and Sirius are closer. Procyon is easy to find, with the stars Sirius and Betelgeuse forming an equilateral triangle that arcs across the celestial equator and is visible from all latitudes. It is called the Winter Triangle, and its curious feature is that in the southern hemisphere it is best seen above the horizon during the height of the local summer. The procyon moves across the stellar background by the diameter of the Moon in 1,000 years, or 1.25" per year.