The two dogs dominate their regions of the sky because of the stars Sirius and Procyon, the first and eighth brightest stars in the sky, respectively. Sirius (magnitude –1.46), which means “scorching,” can only be outshone by a planet (admirably done so by Jupiter). Sirius is only 8.7 light years distant, but not until 1862 was it proven to have a dim companion star (magnitude 8.5). The binary stars orbit each other every 50 years, knowledge claimed by the Dogon of Mali centuries earlier. How they could know this remains a mystery. Sirius can be found easily from the belt of Orion, which points southeast directly to it. Canis Major also has three other bright stars, all second magnitude.

Procyon (magnitude 0.4) is the only bright star in Canis Minor. It is also one the closest stars to us, only 11.4 light years distant. Like Sirius, it also is a binary star system. Its companion (magnitude 10.3) is a white dwarf; they orbit each other every 41 years. Procyon can be found by extending to the left a line defined by the stars of Orion’s right and left shoulders (Bellatrix to Betelgeuse, respectively). Also, Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse form an equilateral triangle of first magnitude stars.