What is "canis minor"

Canis \Ca"nis\ (k[a^]"n[i^]s), n.; pl. Canes (-n[=e]z). [L., a dog.] (Zo["o]l.) A genus of carnivorous mammals, of the family Canid[ae], including the dogs and wolves.

Canis major [L., larger dog], a constellation to the southeast of Orion, containing Sirius or the Dog Star.

Canis minor [L., smaller dog], a constellation to the east of Orion, containing Procyon, a star of the first magnitude.

Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and it is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "lesser dog", in contrast to Canis Major, the "greater dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter.

Canis Minor contains only two stars brighter than the fourth magnitude, Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 0.34, and Gomeisa (Beta Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 2.9. The constellation's dimmer stars were noted by Johann Bayer, who named eight stars including Alpha and Beta, and John Flamsteed, who numbered fourteen. Procyon is the seventh- brightest star in the night sky, as well as one of the closest. A yellow-white main sequence star, it has a white dwarf companion. Gomeisa is a blue-white main sequence star. Luyten's Star is a ninth-magnitude red dwarf and the Solar System's next closest stellar neighbour in the constellation after Procyon. The fourth-magnitude HD 66141, which has evolved into an orange giant towards the end of its life cycle, was discovered to have a planet in 2012. There are two faint deep sky objects within the constellation's borders. The 11 Canis-Minorids are a meteor shower that can be seen in early December.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Canis Minor is located within the southern quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the Vermilion Bird of the South (南方朱雀, Nán Fāng Zhū Què).

The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 小犬座 (xiǎo quǎn zuò), meaning "the puppy constellation".