My favourite star that shines in the night sky just so happens to be the brightest one. I’ve spent many nights lost in its beauty, gazing at this marvel of the cosmos. I hope that you may also be illuminated by this star and the stories it has to share.
Sirius, pronounced Si-ree-us, is a bright star that shines in the constellation of Canis Major (Greater Dog). It twinkles and scintillates more than any other star I know, flickering in colours of ruby, topaz, sapphire, emerald, and diamond that shift and dance as you gaze upon this star, enchanting you with its glimmers and glints.
Its brightness and scintillation have enchanted me for decades now, and when I see it shining gloriously, I am filled with nostalgia and wonder. I love that star. When you gaze upon it with curiosity and awe, you can’t help but get swept away in its mystical and fascinating nature.
Sirius is not visible all year, and for us on Haida Gwaii, it is most easily observed from winter to spring. It hangs close to the horizon, travelling from southeast to southwest over the night. At this time of year, I advise that you look to the south/southwest from 9 p.m. – midnight for your best chance at getting a great view of this jewel in the sky.
The name Sirius derives from an ancient Greek word that means “scorching” or “glowing,” in reference to its brightness and luminosity. In the night sky, only Jupiter, Venus, and sometimes Mars shine brighter.
Sirius is one of the closest star systems in the sky, being only 8.6 light-years away. It is actually made up of two stars, making it a binary star system! Sirius A is the bigger and brighter of the two, and it shares an orbit with a small white dwarf, Sirius B. This white dwarf once burned brighter and hotter than Sirius A but has since diminished into its smaller state. Sirius A is about twice the size of our Sun, while Sirius B is similar in size to our Earth. The star system is estimated to be 200–300 million years old—much younger than our planet!
Because we view Sirius so close to the horizon, its light moves through thick layers of turbulent gases in the atmosphere; air currents distort and bend the light into different wavelengths, which is why we see the flickering of different colours when we gaze at the star! It creates such an enchanting display, and on especially clear nights, the colours can easily capture one’s attention and admiration.
We are not the first human beings to be enchanted by Sirius and its light. Ancient humans have woven stories about Sirius that are older than time, predating cities and empires. It has been deified and worshipped, adored and respected. It has captured the imagination of cultures all around the world, with many legends and myths told—some stories tracing similar threads across continents and oceans.
Sirius was very significant in ancient Egyptian culture. It was worshipped as the goddess Sopdet, the goddess of Sirius itself. She was closely associated with and often combined with the well-known goddess Isis, the goddess of protection, magic, Egyptian royalty, motherhood, and fertility.
For a period of time in the summer, Sirius would sink below the horizon, not visible in the night sky for weeks, until it rose again, visible in the early mornings for a brief period. When Sirius would shine its light again, the Nile River would soon flood, bringing prosperity, abundance, change, and fertility to the land. In some stories, this was a symbolic journey of the star-goddess to the underworld, becoming reborn and blessing the land with the fertile waters of life.
One story that has been particularly strongly associated with Sirius is that of the wolf/dog. In Ancient Greece and Rome, in ancient China and Japan, and across Turtle Island, stories were told of Sirius and the constellation it is in, Canis Major (The Greater Dog).
In the modern constellation classification system, Canis Major is a constellation that is found southeast of Orion. It is relatively easy to see the image of a canine when viewing the constellation in full. Sirius, as the brightest star within this constellation, is often known as “The Dog Star” in the West due to its placement in this constellation.
In some stories, Canis Major, along with Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog), is seen as the hunting dogs of Orion the Hunter that accompany him on his perpetual chase across the heavens. As the sky appears to turn from east to west, Canis Major runs across the sky each night.
In China and Japan, the star is known as the Celestial Wolf (Tiānláng in Chinese and Tenrō in Japanese). There are many stories across North America linking it to wolves and coyotes, continuing the canine connection all across the Northern Hemisphere.
One theory about star stories that share very similar symbolism is that all these stories share the same lineage. The story has been passed down through generations and across vast distances, changing details and concepts as it was told, yet still retaining the same symbolic association. The story may have shifted forms—from a wolf to a dog or coyote—yet the same canine symbolism for this specific constellation is preserved through storytelling.
It is incredible to think of the stargazers and astronomers of eons past who shared this star knowledge with one another—an unbroken tradition that continues to this day. By retelling these stories and learning about the stars and constellations above, we connect to that lineage of astronomers and honour them by gazing up at the same stars and constellations they once did.
I hope that you can find Sirius in the nights to come and appreciate its beautiful light before it sinks below the horizon once more.
May your nights of stargazing be clear of clouds and full of celestial wonder.