Finding Stars and Constellations: Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. It is the brightest star in the Canis Majoris constellation (so it is also known as alpha Canis Majoris). Another name for this star is the Dog Star. This star is twice as massive as the Sun and is located 8.6 light years from Earth. Following the Equatorial Coordinate System, on January 1, 2000 the coordinates for Sirius are:

RA: 06h 45m 08.917s
Dec: −16° 42′ 58.0171″

In order to find Sirius in the sky, we can use Orion as our reference. Orion's belt will point to Sirius as you can see

Previous Posts

Concepts in Astronomy #1. Introduction
Concepts in Astronomy #2. The Ecliptic
Concepts in Astronomy #3. The Celestial Equator
Concepts in Astronomy #4. Right Ascension
Concepts in Astronomy #5. Declination
Concepts in Astronomy #6. The Celestial Sphere
Concepts in Astronomy #7. Azimuth
Concepts in Astronomy #8. Altitude
Concepts in Astronomy #9. The Equatorial Coordinate System
Concepts in Astronomy #10. The Topocentric Coordinate System
Concepts in Astronomy #11. Equinox
Concepts in Astronomy #12. Solstice
Concepts in Astronomy #13. Rotation Period
Concepts in Astronomy #14. Orbital Period
Concepts in Astronomy #15. Axial Precession
Concepts in Astronomy #16. Axial Tilt
Concepts in Astronomy #17. Finding Planets, Stars and Constellations: Polaris
Concepts in Astronomy #18. Finding Planets, Stars and Constellations: Ursa Major and the Big Dipper
Concepts in Astronomy #19. Finding Planets, Stars and Constellations: Orion

Credits

- Galaxy image obtained from Pixabay under CC0. No Copyright. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law

- Sirius and Orion Image © 2018 marcusantoniu26. All rights reserved. Created using Stellarium