Procyon
Related Category: Astronomy: Stars
(prō´sēŏn´´), brightest star in the constellation
Canis Minor; Bayer designation &agr; Canis Minoris; 1992 position R.A. 7
h38.9
m, Dec.+5°15&minut;. A yellow-white star of
spectral class F5 IV-V, it is one of the nearer bright stars, lying about 11.5 light-years away. Its name is from the Greek meaning “before the dog,” i.e., before the Dog Star,
Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Procyon is a brilliant star in its own right, its apparent
magnitude of 0.35 making it one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky. It is a visual
binary star.
