Arabic star names / Procyon

Procyon

الشعرى الشامية

Procyon comes from the Arabic الشعرى الشامية (al-Shiʿrā al-Shāmiya), which means “the northern Shiʿrā”. It is the 8th-brightest star in the sky, in Canis Minor.

Brightness

0.40

Colour

yellow-white

Constellation

Canis Minor

Best seen

February evenings

Right ascension

7h 39m

Declination

+5° 13′

The name

The northern sister of Sirius. Shām (the north, Syria) and Yaman (the south) are the traditional Arabic words for north and south.

Where you can see it

It rises everywhere north of 85°S. From Riyadh it climbs to 71° above the horizon. From London it climbs to 44° above the horizon. From Sydney it climbs to 51° above the horizon.