Mu Canis Majoris (μ Canis Majoris) is a
binary star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...
[ system in the southern ]constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of Canis Major
Canis Major is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin fo ...
. The pair can be located a little to the southwest of the point midway between Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
and Theta Canis Majoris,[ and the components can be split with a small telescope.][ Based upon an annual parallax shift of just 2.62 ]mas
Mas, Más or MAS may refer to:
Film and TV
* Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series
* Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad''
Songs
* Más ( ...
as seen from Earth,[ this system is located roughly 1,200 ]light year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s from the Sun.
Grotius assigned the name Isis to this star, but the name, now obsolete, belonged rather to Gamma Canis Majoris
Gamma Canis Majoris (γ Canis Majoris, abbreviated Gamma CMa, γ CMa), also named Muliphein , is a star in the constellation of Canis Major. It is unclear exactly why this relatively faint star was given the ' gamma' designation, but p ...
.[
As of 2011, the pair had an ]angular separation
Angular distance \theta (also known as angular separation, apparent distance, or apparent separation) is the angle between the two sightlines, or between two point objects as viewed from an observer.
Angular distance appears in mathematics (in pa ...
of 2.77 arc seconds along a position angle of 343.9°.[ The orange-hued primary member, component A, is an evolved K-type giant star with a ]stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...
of K2/3 III[ and a visual magnitude of 5.27.][ The base magnitude 7.32][ companion, component B, is a hybrid B/A-type main-sequence star with a class of B9/A0 V.][
The system has two visual companions. As of 2008, magnitude 10.32 component C lies at an angular separation of 86.90″, while magnitude 10.64 component D is at a separation of 105.0″.][ Mu CMa should not be confused with the 9th magnitude variable star MU CMa located near ]NGC 2360
NGC 2360 (also known as Caroline's Cluster or Caldwell 58) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. It was discovered on 26 February 1783 by Caroline Herschel, who described it as a "beautiful cluster of pretty compressed stars near 1 ...
.
References
External links
*
* WikiSky
μ CMa (Isis)
* Alcyone
μ Canis Majoris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mu Canis Majoris
HR 2593
HD 51250
HD 51251
Canis Majoris, Mu
Canis Major
BD-13 1741
Canis Majoris, 18
051250
033345
2593