Delta Canis Majoris (δ CMa / δ Canis Majoris) is the name of a star in the constellationCanis Major. It also has the traditional name Wezen. The Pleiades star cluster A star is any massive gaseous body in outer space. ... Orion is a remarkable constellation, visible from most places on the globe (but not always the whole year long). ... Canis Major (Latin for big dog) is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also in Ptolemys list of 48 constellations. ...
It has an apparent magnitude of 1.84. The spectral class of Wezen is F8 and it has a surface temperature of 6200 kelvins. It radiates 50,000 times that of the Sun and its radius is approximately 200 times larger than Sun's. The star is located at a distance of 1800 light years from the Solar System. The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other heavenly body is a measure of its apparent brightness; that is, the amount of light received from the object. ... In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequenly refined in terms of other characteristics. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit of temperature, and is one of the seven SI base units. ... The Sun is the star at the centre of our Solar system. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ... Presentation of the Solar system (not to scale). ...
The traditional name comes from the Arabic وزنwazn, meaning a weight.
Canis Major's alpha star Sirius is the brightest star besides the Sun as seen from Earth.
Roman myth also refers to Canis Major as Custos Europae, the dog guarding Europa but failing to prevent her abduction by Jupiter in the form of a bull; and as Janitor Lethaeus, the watchdog of Hell.
Alpha CanisMajoris, also known as Sirius, is of magnitude zero, whereas δ and ε CanisMajoris are of magnitude two, and ο² CanisMajoris is of magnitude three.
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