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Adhara

Also known as ε CMa · HR 2618

Adhara is a star in the constellation Canis Major, about 400 light-years from Earth.

Adhara: a sky-survey photograph of its field
Sky survey view (DSS2 colour, or a backup survey)

Facts

TypeStar (spectral type B1.5II)
ConstellationCanis Major
Position (J2000)6h 58m 37s, −28° 58′
Distance400 light-years (its light set off about 400 years ago)
Brightnessmagnitude 1.5 (smaller is brighter; the faintest stars the eye sees are about 6)
Studied in520 scientific papers (SIMBAD)

When and how to see it

Adhara is highest in the sky at midnight in January. From India (about 20° N) it climbs to about 41° above the horizon; from 50° N, to about 11°. To see it you need the naked eye, even from a town.

Heights are worked out for India and for 50° N. Set your location in Settings to see them for where you are.

For tonight's best time from your own town, the darkness and the Moon, open it on the map and see its "Tonight from your location" card.

More in Canis Major

Everything in Canis Major · All 88 constellations · All sky objects

Data: SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg; the site's weekly copy) · Data sources & credits