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Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.Its name is derived from the Greek word Σείριος (Latin script: Seirios), meaning lit. 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated α CMa or Alpha CMa.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Sirius (/ ˈ s ɪ r ɪ ə s /, SEE-ree-əss; Ancient Greek: Σείριος, romanized: Seírios, lit. 'scorching' pronounced) is the god and personification of the star Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky and the most prominent star in the constellation of Canis Major (or the Greater Dog). [1]
Its name comes from the Greek word for "scorching" or "searing". Sirius is also a binary star; its companion Sirius B is a white dwarf with a magnitude of 8.4–10,000 times fainter than Sirius A to observers on Earth. [32] The two orbit each other every 50 years. Their closest approach last occurred in 1993 and they will be at their greatest ...
Sirius is the fixed star with the greatest apparent magnitude and one which is almost non-variable. The Pleiades, a key feature of Taurus shown across Orion in the same photograph also experience an annual period of visibility ("rising and setting").
Sirius (bottom) and Orion (right). Together, the three brightest stars of the northern winter sky—Sirius, Betelgeuse (top right), and Procyon (top left)—can also be understood as forming the Winter Triangle. Sopdet is the consort of Sah, the personified constellation of Orion near Sirius.
Sirius as the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major as observed from the Earth (lines added for clarity). The Sothic cycle or Canicular period is a period of 1,461 Egyptian civil years of 365 days each or 1,460 Julian years averaging 365 + 1 ⁄ 4 days each.
Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise See also Venus in culture; Morning star, a name for the star Sirius, which appears in the sky just before sunrise from early July to mid-September; Morning star, a (less common) name for the planet Mercury when it appears in the east ...
The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer.They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.