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Eta Canis Majoris

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|- style="vertical-align: top;" | B-V color index | |- style="vertical-align: top;" | U-B color index | |- style="vertical-align: top;" | Variable type |

|- ! style="background-color: #FFFFC0;" colspan="2" | Details |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Mass | M |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Radius | R |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Luminosity | L |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Temperature | K |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Metallicity | |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Rotation | |- |style="vertical-align: baseline;" | Age | })<()or(}})=()and(}})<())}}} years

|- ! style="background-color: #FFFFC0;" colspan="2" | Other designations |- | colspan="2" |

Aludra, 31 Canis Majoris, HR 2827, CD−29°4328, HD 58350, SAO 173651, FK5 283, HIP 35904, GC 9886, CCDM 07240-2918

|} Eta Canis Majoris (η CMa / η Canis Majoris) is a star in the constellation Canis Major. It also has the traditional name Aludra.

Aludra shines brightly in the skies in spite of a large distance from Earth due to being intrinsically many times brighter (absolute magnitude) than the Sun. A blue supergiant, Aludra has only been around a fraction of the time our Sun has, yet is already in the last stages of its life. It is still expanding and may be becoming a red supergiant, or perhaps has already passed that phase, but in either case it will go supernova within the next few million years.

The name Aludra originates from the Arabic: عذرا al-‘aðrā "the virgin". In ancient times Arabic astrologers/astronomers referred to a group of four stars in the Canis Major constellation, also known as the "Greater Dog", as Al 'Adhara "the virgins".

η Canis Majoris classified as a Alpha Cygni type variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +2.38 to +2.48

 


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