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Canes Venatici (abbr. CVn, gen. Canum Venaticorum)



The Hunting Dogs; a small, faint northern constellation, surrounded by Ursa Major to the north, Boötes to the east, and Coma Berenices to the south. Its only star brighter than magnitude 4.0 is Alpha2 CVn, or Cor Caroli (visual magnitude 2.89; absolute magnitude 0.89; spectral type A0Vp; distance 82 light-years; R.A. 12h 56m 2s, Dec. +38° 19' 03"). Its second brightest star, Chara, however, is of great interest because it has been ranked as the nearest Sunlike star most likely support life. Canes Venatici is particularly well-endowed with galaxies. See below for details of the constellation's interesting deep sky objects.


Canes Venatici constellation
Canes Venatici. © 2003 Torsten Bronger.
Copied here under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License



Objects of interest
Name Type of Object Notes
Y CVn (La Superba) star See separate entry
M3 (NGC 5272) globular cluster One of the brightest of its class, it looks like a small comet through binoculars. Magnitude 6.4; diameter 10‘; R.A. 13h 41m, Dec. +28° 32'
Whirlpool Galaxy galaxy M51 (NGC 5194). See separate entry
Sunflower Galaxy galaxy M63 (NGC 5055). See separate entry
M94 (NGC 4736) galaxy A face-on Sab-type spiral with a very bright core. Magnitude 8.2; size 11.0' × 9.1'; R.A. 12h 50m, Dec. +41° 17'
Canes Venatici I Group cluster of galaxies See separate entry
Canes Venatici II Group cluster of galaxies See separate entry


Constellations
Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Bootes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Chamaeleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Austrina | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium | Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros | Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus | Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula


Related categories

   • NOTABLE STARS
   • NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
   • GALAXIES


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