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Alpha (α) Canis Minoris
Procyon
Yellow Solar-type Star
| Right Ascension | 07h 49m 18s | Best Seen | 1/15 - 5/1 |
| Declination | 05° 13' 35" | Magnitude | 0.4 |
| Constellation | Canis Minor | ||
| Actual | Compared to Sun | |
| Distance | ~ 11.4 ly | -- |
| Actual Brightness | -- | -- |
| Surface Temperature | ~6700 °K | ~1.16 |
| Diameter | -- | -- |
| Mass | -- | -- |
| Surface Gravity | -- | -- |
| Surface Composition (by mass) | 74% hydrogen 24% helium 2% everything else |
same |
| Spectral Type | F5 IV-V | G2 V |
| Density (gram/cubic cm) | -- | -- |
What To Look For Through The Telescope
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Recommended eyepiece: 24mm or 40 mm.
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When people look through the telescope they should see a faint star. It may appear to be a pale yellow.
Procyon Information:
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Procyon is the 6th brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere’s night sky (the 8th brightest star overall).
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The Greek name means “before the dog,” referring to the fact that for Northern latitudes, Procyon rises before the “Dog Star,” Sirius.
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Just because a star is bright doesn’t mean it’s close to us.
a. The 5th brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere is Rigel in the constellation Orion. Rigel is a very hot, very large, blue star. It’s brighter than Procyon – but it’s about 770 light years away!
b. Procyon isn’t quite as bright as Rigel, yet it’s only 11 light years away. However, Procyon is a medium temperature, medium size, yellow star.
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Procyon has a companion star, Procyon B.
a. Procyon B is a white dwarf.
b. It was truly discovered in 1895.
c. However, its existence was known since 1844: Procyon A wobbles a bit, leading astronomers to infer the presence of a companion which could gravitationally influence Procyon A’s motion.
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References
| Item | Updated | Notes |
| Coordinates | 2003-11-26 | SIMBAD 07 39 18 +05 13 30 Hipparcos 07 39 18 +05 13 39 |
| Magnitude | 2003-11-26 | SIMBAD 0.34 Hipparcos 0.40 |
| Distance | 2003-11-26 | SIMBAD, Hipparcos parallax 285.93mas -> 11.4 ly |
| Actual Brightness | -- | |
| Surface Temperature | -- | |
| Diameter | -- | |
| Mass | -- | |
| Surface Gravity | -- | |
| Surface Composition | 2003-11-26 | OK for all stars |
| Spectral Type | 2003-11-26 | SIMBAD, Hipparcos F5 IV-V |
| Density | -- | |
| Other Information | 2003-11-26 | http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/procyon.html |