Background:
Canis Major, the Great Dog constellation, is a prominent summer constellations for its southern hemisphere observers. Not much imagination is required to see the constellation as the dog figure it represents. Canis Major is also known for the fact that it contains the brightest star in the sky - Sirius (magnitude -1.4). Its companion constellation, Canis Minor (the Little Dog) is not far from it. Canis Major contains a number of bright open clusters. The ancient Greeks called the dog Laelaps. It ran extremely fast and was placed in the sky for its victory over a fox known as the fastest creature in the world.

Where is it?
South African observers will find Canis Major at their zeniths during the mid summer months - January/February in the early evenings. It lies not far from Orion and is partly situated in the rich Milky Way area of the sky.

Finding it:
Finding Canis Major is very easy due to its brightest star Sirius. If you know the position of Sirius (the brightest star in the sky) you will easily identify the figure of the constellation. Remember that the constellation lies on its back early summer and stands on its feet late summer during the early evenings!