Indeed, Ptolemy in the Almagest called it simply Κύων (Kyon), the Dog. This means that the Great Dog is visible in the morning hours during the fall and in the evening during winter. The constellation Canis Major occupies an area of 380 square degrees and contains three stars with known planets. Canis Major is a southern hemispheric constellation which means it can't be seen easily or at all from the northern hemisphere. We need you to answer this question! Canis Major is not a member of the Zodiac group of twelve constellations that appear when the Sun sets. Look below and to … Four dogs are to be found among the constellations: Canis Major, Canis Minor, and the two hunting dogs, Canes Venatici, but Canis Major is undoubtedly the top dog. The constellation Canis Major, the great dog, is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky. The accolade of ‘brightest star in the sky as viewed from Earth” goes to the well-known star Sirius, also popularly called the “Dog Star”, due to its role as the dominant star in the Canis Major (Greater Dog) constellation. OS Canis Majoris, Canis Major's Dimmest Visible Star. It is about 425 light-years away. It means "greater dog" in Latin (also called large dog). A List of Constellations Visible Seasonally ... Canis Major, known as the Great Dog, is named after one of Orion's hunting dogs and contains Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Canis Major constellation, image: Robero Mura. Canis Major can be seen following obediently behind Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology, on his journey across the sky. Wezen means the “weight” in Arabic, with the star representing Canis Major’s hindquarter. – Wezen (Delta Canis Majoris), the constellation’s third brightest star, is a yellow-white supergiant located 1,800 light years distant with a magnitude of 1.83.It is around 10 million year old, and has a luminosity 50,000 times that of our sun. It can be seen at latitudes between 60 degrees and -90 degrees. Canis Major is host to Sirius, the brightest star in the entire sky and one of Earth’s closest neighboring stars. It represents the smaller of Orion's two hunting dogs along with its larger neighbor, Canis Major. He smaller dog is represented by the constellation Canis Minor. It can be seen at latitudes between +60° and -90° and is best visible at 9 p.m. during the month of February. Its name means “lesser dog” in Latin. When Can I see Canis Major? Canis Major seems to cross the sky in pursuit of the hare, represented by the constellation Lepus under Orion’s feet. The astronomer named Ptolemy listed Canis Major when he made a list of 48 constellations. To the north of it scampers Canis Minor, the smaller dog, either having lost the scent or sniffing out different prey. Canis Major, the Greater Dog of the southern-heavens, and thus Canis Australior, ... guardian of the visible horizon and of the solstices, transferred to Rome as goddess of the chase; but it is very doubtful whether they had in mind either star or constellation.