Sirius

Also known as HD 48915, 9 Canis Majoris, NSV 17173, CEL 1368, GAT 474, HR 2491, HIP 32349, HIC 32349

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, located in the southern constellation of Canis Major. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ; ). The star is designated  Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated  CMa or Alpha CMa. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. Sirius is a binary star consisting of a main-sequence star of spectral type A0 or A1, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance betw

AI overview

Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth, located in the constellation Canis Major, and it is actually a binary system made up of two stars: a main-sequence star and a white dwarf companion. It matters to astronomy and stargazing because its exceptional brightness makes it a prominent landmark in the night sky and provides scientists with an important example of a binary star system to study.

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Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth: 8.60
Image: Sirius.jpg

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Commons category: Sirius
catalog code: WEB 6525
Commons gallery: Sirius
apparent magnitude: -1.35
spectral class: A0mA1 Va+DA2
right ascension: 101.287155333
declination: -16.716115861
radial velocity: -7.6
effective temperature: 9580
parallax: 379.21
metallicity: 0.28
stellar rotational velocity: 5
surface gravity: 3160
right ascension component of proper motion: -538
declination component of proper motion: -1223.08

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~40 min read

Article

30 sections

Contents

Etymology
Observational history
Kinematics
Distance
Discovery of Sirius B
Colour controversy
Observation
Location
Stellar system
Sirius A
Sirius B
Apparent third star
{{Anchor|Sirius supercluster}}Star cluster membership
Distant star cluster
Cultural significance
Dog Star
Other canine associations
Range of associations
Iranian mythology and Zoroastrianism
In Islam
In Theosophy
New Year culmination
Dogon
Serer religion
Modern significance
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

Sirius appears bright because of its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to the Solar System. At a distance of , the Sirius system is one of Earth's nearest neighbours. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar System and it is expected to increase in brightness slightly over the next 60,000 years to reach a peak magnitude of −1.68. Coincidentally, at about the same time, Sirius will take its turn as the southern Pole Star, around the year 66,270 AD. In that year, Sirius will come to within 1.6 degrees of the south celestial pole. This is due to axial precession and proper motion of Sirius itself which moves slowly in the SSW direction, so it will be visible from the southern hemisphere only.