Procyon
Where is Procyon?
Look southeast, about 35° up at 05:17 in Canis Minor. It rises at 01:12 and climbs through the night.
- Rises
- 01:12
- Highest
- 07:41
- Sets
- 14:14
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 35°
Can I see Procyon tonight?
From London tonight, Procyon is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the southeast at 35°.
At magnitude 0.3 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Procyon look like?
Procyon looks yellow-white to the eye. Its spectral type is F5IV-V+DQZ: yellow-white subgiant (a little hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A bright yellowish-white star, east of Orion.
Binoculars
A bright white point in an otherwise sparse area.
Telescope
A point of light. The white-dwarf companion is beyond amateur telescopes.
About Procyon
Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor, the Little Dog, and one of the nearest bright stars at 11.5 light-years. Its name means “before the dog”, because from the Mediterranean it rises shortly before Sirius, the Dog Star.
Like Sirius, Procyon has a white-dwarf companion, Procyon B, too faint and close to see in ordinary telescopes.
Procyon is one corner of the Winter Triangle, with Sirius and Betelgeuse.
Procyon A is about one and a half times the mass of the Sun and roughly seven times as luminous. It is beginning to swell as it nears the end of the main stage of its life.
Its white-dwarf companion was predicted in 1844 from a slight wobble in Procyon’s motion and finally seen in 1896.
Procyon lies just north of the celestial equator, so it can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth.
Procyon in Canis Minor
Questions
What is the Winter Triangle?
Is Procyon close?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences