Definitions for dog star
dog star

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Sirius, Dog Star, Canicula, Sothisnoun

   the brightest star in the sky; in Canis Major

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dog Starnoun

   A bluish-white star in the constellation Canis Major; Alpha (u03B1) Canis Majoris. A vertex of the Winter Triangle and the brightest star in the night sky. It is actually a binary star with a white dwarf companion star.

2. Etymology: From the fact that the star lies in the constellation of Canis Major (the "larger dog")

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dog Star

   Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word Σείριος, or Seirios, meaning lit. 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa or α CMa. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. Sirius is a binary star consisting of a main-sequence star of spectral type A0 or A1, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance between the two varies between 8.2 and 31.5 astronomical units as they orbit every 50 years.Sirius appears bright because of its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to the Solar System. At a distance of 2.64 parsecs (8.6 ly), the Sirius system is one of Earth's nearest neighbours. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar System, so it is expected to increase in brightness slightly over the next 60,000 years, reaching a peak magnitude of −1.68. After that time, its distance will begin to increase, and it will become fainter, but it will continue to be the brightest star in the Earth's night sky for approximately the next 210,000 years, before Vega, another A-type star and more luminous than Sirius, becomes the brightest star.Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun (M☉) and has an absolute visual magnitude of +1.43. It is 25 times as luminous as the Sun, but has a significantly lower luminosity than other bright stars such as Canopus, Betelgeuse, or Rigel. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old. It was originally composed of two bright bluish stars. The initially more massive of these, Sirius B, consumed its hydrogen fuel and became a red giant before shedding its outer layers and collapsing into its current state as a white dwarf around 120 million years ago.Sirius is colloquially known as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (the Greater Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dog Star

   sirius, a star of the constellation Canis Major, or the Greater Dog, and the brightest star in the heavens; -- called also Canicula, and, in astronomical charts, / Canis Majoris. See Dog days

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dog Star

   "Dog Star" is a 1961 science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clarke about an astronomer and his dog, Laika. The story was also published under the title "Moondog".

Matched Categories

1. • Binary Star

How to pronounce dog star?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dog star in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dog star in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dog star in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3