Can Menor
Little Dog (Canis Minoris)
Canis Minor, the Lesser Dog, is a small constellation with only two notable stars, but one of them is Procyon, the eighth brightest star in the night sky. Along with Sirius in Canis Major and Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon forms the Winter Triangle asterism. The constellation represents the smaller of Orion's two hunting dogs faithfully following the great hunter across the sky.
📜 Mitología
Canis Minor is traditionally identified as Maera, the faithful dog of Icarius, who was taught winemaking by Dionysus. When peasants killed Icarius (thinking he had poisoned them), Maera led Icarius's daughter Erigone to her father's body. Both Erigone and Maera died of grief, and Dionysus placed them all in the sky - Icarius as Boötes, Erigone as Virgo, and Maera as Canis Minor. Another interpretation associates Canis Minor with one of Orion's hunting dogs.
💡 Datos curiosos
- ✦Procyon means 'before the dog' in Greek, as it rises before Sirius (the Dog Star)
- ✦At 11.5 light-years away, Procyon is one of Earth's nearest stellar neighbors
- ✦Procyon has a white dwarf companion, Procyon B, discovered in 1896