Canis Major constellation

A simulated image of Sirius A and B using Celestia

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is a binary star system in Canis Major, near Orion. It has an apparent magnitude of −1.46. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old. It was originally composed of two stars: one was blue-white and one was white.

Sirius appears bright because of its intrinsic luminosity and its position (it is relatively close to Earth). At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (8.6 ly), the Sirius system is one of Earth's near neighbours.