Sirius

stars · binary stars · brightest · constellations

Brightest star ever. Sirius shines brighter than any other star in the entire night sky. It's almost twice as bright as the second brightest star, called Canopus.

Found in Canis Major. Sirius sits in the constellation Canis Major, which is Latin for Big Dog. Ancient Greeks named this star Sirius, which comes from their word meaning scorching or burning.

Two stars together. Sirius isn't just one star, it's actually a pair. Sirius A is a big, hot star, and Sirius B is a tiny, super dense white dwarf that used to be a star like our Sun.

Cosmic dance partner. The two stars orbit around each other like a pair of cosmic dancers, completing one full orbit every 50 years. Sometimes they're as close as 8 astronomical units and sometimes as far as 31.5.