Star
Adhara
Blue-white star · B2II
ε Canis Majoris · Canis Major
Shown in its true colour — like most stars, it is too far away to photograph as more than a point of light.
Epsilon Canis Majoris is a binary star system and the second-brightest star in the constellation of Canis Major. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinised from ε Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Epsilon CMa or ε CMa. This is the 22nd-brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 1.50. About 4.7 million years ago, it was the brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of −3.99. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos and the Gaia mission, it is about 405–428 light-years distant.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~405 light-years
Apparent mag.
+1.50
Spectral type
B2II
Luminosity
3,376 × Sun
Absolute mag.
−3.97
Catalogue
HIP 33579
Spectral type
B2II
True colour from its B–V index (-0.21): a surface around 13800 K.
Did you know
- Adhara is also known as ε Canis Majoris.
- Its spectral type B2II marks it as a blue-white star.
- It lies in the constellation Canis Major.
