Procyon distance from Earth is 11.41 light-years away from Earth or 3.50 parsecs. The eastern anchor of the Winter Triangle, Procyon is the luminary of Canis Minor, the smaller dog, and at magnitude zero (0.34) is the sky's eighth brightest star.At a distance of only 11.4 light years, it is the 14th closest star system, which largely explains its brightness. The International Astronomical Unions (IAU) Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) officially approved the name for Alpha Canis Minoris A on June 30, 2016. The star's Galacto-Centric Distance is 7,403 Parsecs or 24,145.872 Light Years. The first is a pure Lyran-Sirian . Life Form Type: Two types of sentient Beings. [35] The HRI X-ray pointlike source location is ~4 south of Procyon A, on the edge of the 90% confidence error circle, indicating identification with Procyon A rather than Procyon B which was located about 5 north of ProcyonA (about 9 from the X-ray source location).[34]. Lab #10 Polynesian Wayfinding name: attendance: 1pt lab 10 polynesian wayfinding introduction in this lab, we will explore the tools and techniques taught and Procyon A appears to be a relatively young star with only around The smaller the number, the brighter the star is. b)Determine the frequency of a wave with a wavelength of 5.60 . (See Gomeisa.). These are equivalent to the Longitude and Latitude on Earth. (See a larger, interactive animation of the Procyon B is located in the Milky Way galaxy, and this is the galaxy that you reside in. Alpha Minoris B, the companion star, is a white dwarf, Procyon reaches the highest point in the sky in late winter. If the R.A. is positive, then it's eastwards and vice versa. Bessel noticed irregularities in the motions of both Procyon and Sirius and attributed them to gravitational attraction of dark companions. Procyon B is a binary or multiple star system. [5][32] The radius agrees with white dwarf models that assume a carbon core. This much dimmer star is a white dwarf (DQZ,A4 or QZ,A4 VII), whose USAF An Astronomical Unit is the distance between Earth and the Sun. 5.002), Zeta Canis Minoris (mag. Galaxies have been observed at greater distances, but at more than 9 billion light-years from Earth, the huge blue star is at least 100 times farther away than any other individual star ever seen. Procyon was considered a very fortunate star, portending fame and wealth. Today we know Regulus is a hot blue-white star, 79 light years away and shining as brightly as 360 Suns. farther out at around 4.003 AUs. Radius: Procyon A : 2.048 solar radii | Procyon B : 0.01234 solar radius In Greek mythology, Procyon is associated with Maera, a hound belonging to Erigone, daughter of Icarius of Athens. observed from Earth, but its intrinsic brightness actually There are no exoplanets recorded on the site for the star, and that is most likely the case. Located at a distance of 860 light years from Earth, Rigel is the most distant star in the top 10 brightest stars list. The combined motions of the system across the sky means that in 323,140 years time, Procyon will become an eclipsing binary system for about 190 years when viewed from Earth, as its orbital plane crosses the Sun-Procyon line. postscript). et al, 2000). The Flamsteed name can be shortened to 10 Cmi. Surface Temperature: Procyon A: 6,530K | Procyon B: 7,740K Our own Sun is the brightest star and therefore has the lowest of all magnitudes, -26.74. Rotating your screen maybe sufficient to see the Stellar values for comparison. Stellar Database. Physics. release; and [3] As it continues to expand, the star will eventually swell to about 80 to 150 times its current diameter and become a red or orange color. There is a relationship between colour and temperature, stars that are closer to red in the rainbow spectrum are cooler whereas those closer to blue are hotter. Sol. One parsec is the distance from the Sun to the star under consideration when the parallax angle is equal to 1 . The Id of the star in the Henry Draper catalogue is HD61421. Procyon (/prosi.n/)[15] is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. Comments may be merged or altered slightly, such as if it contains an email or website address. with elements heavier than hydrogen when it cast off its outer gas layers, (Arentoft (Girard The star is believed to have spent about 680 million years on the main sequence, fusing hydrogen in its core, before evolving into a giant, losing most of its mass due to stellar winds, and ending its life cycle about 1.19 billion years ago, when it became a white dwarf. However, with the 2007 release of updated Hipparcos files, the radius is now calculated at being round 2.095. Physics questions and answers. et al, 2000) and about 1.4 to 2.3 times its diameter and Brown, 2000 -- in There's no register feature and no need to give an email address if you don't want to. What is the distance to Procyon in kilometers? site for other information about The Procyon System is located about 11.5 light-years (ly) from our Sun. Procyon's closest neighboring star is Luyten's Star, about 1.12 light-years (0.34 parsecs) away. [28] Unlike the MOST result, the variation seen in the WIRE photometry was in agreement with radial velocity measurements from the ground. Procyon is moving -1,036.8 0.55 milliarcseconds/year towards the north and -714.59 1.26 milliarcseconds/year east if we saw them in the horizon. Most are indexes in various catalogues. 1.8 billion years it has about 1.4 times the iron abundance of Sol, and dust has been A name is preferred, even if it's a random made-up one by yourself. An example of when it's a Blue Straggler, the star has stolen matter from a nearby star and grown to appear youthful when it's not. It has the Bayer designation Canis Minoris, which is Latinized to Alpha Canis Minoris, and abbreviated CMi or Alpha CMi, respectively.As determined by the European Space Agency Hipparcos astrometry . separating the two stars varies from 8.9 and 21.0 AUs; they are always [9], In late June 2004, Canada's orbital MOST satellite telescope carried out a 32-day survey of ProcyonA. Sirius, Alpha Canis Majoris ( CMa), is the brightest star in the night sky and one of the nearest star systems to Earth. "The close proximity of the planets around Wolf 1061 means there is a good chance these planets may pass across the face of the star. This relatively large star has about It takes the two stars within 8.9 astronomical units of each other and as far apart as 21 astronomical units. Dionysus placed the father, the daughter and the dog in the sky as the constellations Botes (Icarius), Virgo (Erigone) and the star Procyon (Maera). and luminosity type F5 IV-V It should not be taken as though the star is moving closer or further away from Earth . [29], Like Sirius B, Procyon B is a white dwarf that was inferred from astrometric data long before it was observed. Procyon B is hotter than Procyon A, with an estimated temperature of 7,740 K, but shines with only 0.00049 solar luminosities. Procyon, Alpha Canis Minoris ( CMi), is the 18th nearest individual star to the Sun and the fourth closest visible star. An exception is Gliese 667Cc which lies 22 light-years from Earth. cooler than Sol's Visual Orbits of Binary Stars, Procyon A and B may be separated on effective temperatures and surface gravities, including A note about the calculations, when I'm talking about years, I'm talking about non-leap years only (365 days). Small stars are more energy efficient than larger stars and live longer. Sir John identified the stars in the constellation with a number and its Latin name, this star's Flamsteed designation is 10 Canis Minoris. . These stars are found mainly in Star Clusters. Distance from Earth: 11.4 light years: Star name, type: Procyon A, white-yellow main sequence star F5V: Star mass, radii: 1.50, 2.30 x Sol: Star2 name, type: . ultraviolet Coordinates: RA 07h 39m 18.1/17.7s | Dec +05 13 29/20 It's thought that Proxima Centauri b receives approximately the same amount of solar energy as Earth does from our Sun. (For an illustrated discussion, The list below may not include all the stars, only those that are recorded on this site. [39], The constellations in Macedonian folklore represented agricultural items and animals, reflecting their village way of life. If you use the 1997 parallax value, Procyon' absolute magnitude is 2.68. [Guide] Procyon apparent magnitude is 0.4, which is a measure of the star's brightness as seen from Earth. Rotating your screen maybe sufficient to see the Stellar values for comparison. (a) 11.1 pc. close proximity and large disparity in brightness with its primary In 2007, Hipparcos data was revised with a new parallax of 284.56000, which puts the Procyon distance from Earth as 11.46 light years or 3.51 parsecs. Antares is 550 light years from Earth and the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. Canis Minor constellation map by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine. Alpha Canis Minoris A has a close companion star B that is separated Comments may be merged or altered slightly, such as if it contains an email or website address. The asterism's appearance signified the coming of the rainy season and increase in food staple manioc, used at feasts to feed guests. et al, 2000). [which] are remarkably similar to those seen in the Sun, and Below is a tabular view of the star facts with the values of the Sun on the right so you can compare them against our star, the Sun. [9] With a surface temperature of 7740K, it is also much cooler than SiriusB; this is a testament to its lesser mass and greater age. ----------------------------------------------. Arthur Distance to Earth: 11.46 light years In addition to its New Suspect Variable (NVS) Sirius B. The closest of these stars, Proxima Centauri, is just about 4.24 light . Canopus is fainter only than Sirius. It has an apparent magnitude of only 10.7. (Schroeder This proximity is the main reason for its brightness, as with other near stars such as Alpha Centauri, Procyon and Vega and in contrast to distant, highly luminous supergiants such . Diameter: 735 million miles (1.2 billion km) - 850 x Sun. LHS (Luyten Half-Second) catalogue is a catalogue of stars whose proper motions exceed half a second of arc annually. The orbital period is 41 years. The Procyon System is located about The value comes from the Hipparcos Extended Catalog. The distance is calculated using the parallax from the original Hipparcos data released in 1997 which is 285.93000. The separation between the orbiting pair varies from 8.9 AU to as much as 21 AU, with an average separation of 15 AU, which is just a little less than the mean distance between the Sun and the planet Uranus. #Cosmology Science writer, astrophysicist, science communicator & NASA columnist. The list below may not include all the stars, only those that are recorded on this site. Like many other bright and nearby stars, Procyon is often used in works of fiction (literature, films, television and video games). Procyon is a binary or multiple star system. UGPS J0722-0540, occasionally shortened to UGPS 0722-05, is the closest, isolated brown dwarf to Earth. star in the night sky as well as the Distance: 8.6 light-years; Procyon. Procyon is the traditional/proper name for the star, whilst Alpha Canis Minoris is the Bayer classification for the star. Using the most recent figures given by the 2007 Hipparcos data, Procyon distance from Earth is 11.46 light years. (dp) = 11.4ly 1ly0.306601parsec 3.5 parsecs. Procyon distance from Earth is 11.41 light-years away from Earth or 3.50 parsecs In 2007, Hipparcos data was revised with a new parallax of 284.56000, which puts the Procyon distance from Earth as 11.46 light years or 3.51 parsecs. Lang, 1980), more recent seismology data is consistent with Identification is the number that the star was indexed in the Durchmusterung or Bonner Durchmusterung. Distance to Earth: 11.46 light years Star Type: white main . 2) a)Consider electromagnetic waves propagating in air.Determine the frequency of a wave with a wavelength of 5.40 km. There are no known exoplanets in orbit round the star, there might or might not be any but due to their size compared to the star, they'll be very hard to spot compared to other smaller stars hence why none have been spotted around a supergiant. Procyon B, is a dead white dwarf that is believed to have died about 1.19 billion years ago, after having spent only about 680 million years on the main sequence. At least 15,000 times fainter than Procyon A, The radial velocity, the speed at which the Procyon is towards the Sun, is -2.70000 km/s with an error of about 1.01 km/s . naked eye. [5] It has a stellar classification of DQZ,[5] having a helium-dominated atmosphere with traces of heavy elements. The Durchmusterung was compiled by the Bonn Observatory between 1859 to 1903. Apparent Magnitude is also known as Visual Magnitude. Like Sirius, this star is close to Earth at 11.5 light-years, making it the 16th nearest star to Earth. When the et al, 2008). In Corozalito beach, Costa Rica, Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest both solitarily and in arribadas. orbiting one another over 467 years. et al, 2005). Minor. The primary star of the system, Procyon A, has an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34, while the companion star, Procyon B, is an almost dead white dwarf with an apparent magnitude of 10.7, which makes it an exceedingly difficult target for amateur equipment. It is not part of the Canis Minor constellation outline but is within the borders of the constellation. At some distance lies . detected in the system Previous estimates of the orbital elements of this binary system The Id of the star in the Yale Bright Star Catalogue is HR2943. If you give an email address, you may receive an email notifying you when someone else has added a comment to the same page. It would take a spaceship 11.41 years travelling at the speed of light to get there. In Hawaii, Procyon was known as Puana, meaning blossom. It was part of an asterism called Ke ka o MakaliI, or the canoe bailer of MakaliI, which it formed with Sirius, Capella, Castor and Pollux. Distance to Procyon B. Procyon B is an estimated 11.41 light years from our Solar System (Earth and Sun). Although Procyon appears to be a single star when viewed from Earth, it is in fact a binary system with an orbital period of 40.82 years. Alpha Canis Minoris A, the Little Dog Star, is the eighth brightest Henry Draper was an American doctor who started the list that has been expanded over the years. The main star, Procyon A, is 1.5 times . If you want to see the comparison between Procyon B and our star, the Sun, you will need a screen of at least 800px across. Procyon is also known as BD +05 1739. 2 parsecs. [4] The pair orbit each other with a period of 40.84years along an elliptical orbit with an eccentricity of 0.4,[12] more eccentric than Mercury's. It should not be taken as though the star is moving closer or further away from Earth. The Procyon system is composed of Procyon A, a white hydrogen-fusing dwarf of the spectral type F5 IV-V, and Procyon B, a much fainter white dwarf companion with the stellar classification DQZ. Procyon Distance from Earth. Procyon B is a white dwarf located in the constellation of Canis Minor, The Small Dog. 3) PROCYON will perform a close flyby trajectory, with guidance provided by optical navigation and will pass within 50 km distance from the asteroid. As Mass: Procyon A: 1.499 solar mass | Procyon B: 0.602 solar mass In Greek mythology, Procyon is associated with a hound named Maera, which belonged to Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens. designation of NVS 3672, some other useful names and star All messages will be reviewed before being displayed. formula for the The Right Ascension (Longitude) is expressed in time (hh:mm:ss) and is how far along Earth's celestial equator the star is. 4.33), HD 66141 (mag. GJ 280, SAO 115756, GCRV 5099, HIP 37279, PPM 153068, BD+051739, LHS 233, IRAS 07366+0520, TYC 187-2184-1, Procyon A, Alpha Canis Minoris A, CCDM J07393+0514A, Procyon B, Alpha Canis Minoris B, CCDM J07393+0514B, GJ 280 B. average by a semi-major axis of 14.9 AUs (4.271") in an elliptical The Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point from our planet in its orbit, at 1 P.M. EST. At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (8.6 ly), the Sirius system contains two of the eight nearest stars to the Sun, and it is the fifth closest stellar system to the Sun. the Milky Way. to have 60.2 percent of Sol's mass Sirius (Alpha Canis Minoris) at lower left and For example, a red star can be large or small. away its outer layers to reveal a remnant core as a white dwarf. A bright red dot called Betelgeuse marks Orion's shoulder, and this star's strange dimming has captivated skygazers for thousands of years. Procyon A, or Alpha Canis First we find the distance of Spica from Earth in parsec (ds). For another We don't have a spaceship that can travel that distance or at that speed yet. It will be visible a little earlier each evening until by late March can be seen from 7.40pm. in 1951 have been superceded. Procyon has been known by many names throughout history. Distance From Earth: About 11.4 Light Years from Earth. Procyon lies 11.4 light-years from Earth and is a visual binary, a bright yellow-white subgiant with a faint, white dwarf companion of about the 10th magnitude. Flamsteed designations such as 10 Canis Minoris (10 Cmi) are named after the creator, Sir John Flamsteed. Don't miss out! ARICNS, The Stars of The time it takes to travel to Procyon depends on how fast you are going. zone around Procyon A.). and ADS 6251 B. It wouldn't have sufficient mass to go supernova. The figure is derived at by using the formula from SDSS rather than peer reviewed papers. 1", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Procyon&oldid=1141697892, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 09:56. The star is rapidly evolving off the main sequence, with its high luminosity suggesting that it has nearly converted all of its hydrogen into helium, and is thus moving into the sub-giant class. It can also refer to the whole system. It would be as bright as Scorpii is in our sky. Procyon (upper left), Sirius (botton centre) and Betelgeuse (upper right), image: Hubble/European Space Agency, credit: Akira Fujii. (Procyon B is a white dwarf, a remnant stellar core, which enriched Procyon A et al, 1992). 11.46 0.05 light years (3.51 0.02 parsecs), Procyon, Alpha Canis Minoris, CMi, 10 Canis Minoris, HD 61421, HR 2943, GC 10277. Gl 280 A, Hip 37279, HD 61421, BD+05 1739, SAO 115756, Science. Alpha Canis Minoris, Alf Cmi, HD 61421, TYC 187-2184-1, LHS 233, HIP 37279, HR 2943, 10 Canis Minoris, 10 Cmi, BD +05 1739, Gliese 280.0, 2MASS J7391805-513298, IRAS 7366+520, -1036.80000 0.55000 milliarcseconds/year, -714.59000 1.26000 milliarcseconds/year. Their average separation is 15 astronomical units, almost the distance from the Sun to Uranus. Those that are blue stars are normally identified as being young stars whereas redder stars are usually older stars, ones that are at the end of their life. Small angle formula. Aage Gunnar Strand (1907-2000; NASA The distance of Spica from Earth (ds) = 260 ly. "on average" by only about 16 times the distance from the Earth to the In ancient Macedonia, where the constellations mostly represented animals and agricultural implements that reflected the old Macedonian way of life, Procyon and Sirius were known as Volci, two hungry wolves circling Orion, which to the Macedonians, represented a plough and oxen, and not the hunter of other cultures. (Kuchner Sirius, also called Alpha Canis Majoris or the Dog Star, brightest star in the night sky, with apparent visual magnitude 1.46. 1.5 times Sol's mass (Canis Minoris, and its 1st magnitude star Procyon) we encounter Monoceros . Eventually it will swell up to anything between 80 and 150 times the diameter of the Sun somwhere between 10 million and 100 million years from now. spectral flux distribution data to determine stellar A number represents a stars magnitude, whether apparent/visual or absolute. Even though the Milky Way passes through it, the constellation does not have any particularly bright deep sky objects. To the Romans, however, the star was known as Antecanis, which roughly means Not the Dog Star. The human colony occupies the fourth planet, while the Amphiboid-Reptoid colonies are located on the second and third planets from the star. As the Earth is titled, we therefore have Celestial and Ecliptic hemispheres and they can be different for a star. 1)Light from the star Procyon takes 11.4 years to reach the earth. The distance from Procyon A where an Earth-type planet would be Unlike Sol, it is a white-yellow main sequence dwarf star of spectral Some Scientists Certainly Think So. Other Designations: Elgomaisa, Algomeysa, Antecanis, Alpha Canis Minoris. (Girard Icarius was a follower of the god Dionysus, who taught him to make wine. The celestial hemisphere is equivalent to the hemispheres on Earth. calculated by from 1995 to 1999 found no supporting evidence for a large Jupiter For You can decline to give a name; if that is the case, the comment will be attributed to a random star. The nights may be growing shorter now, but with the weather gradually warming up, spring is a great time for . Up-to-date technical summaries on these stars can be found at: The human colony occupies the fourth planet, while the Amphiboid-Reptoid colonies are located on the second and third planets from the star. Declination: +5 degrees 13 . The star has an estimated age of 1.7 billion of Years old but could be as young as 1.6 to 1.8 Billion Years Old according to Hipparcos. list of the 100 Procyon B has the stellar classification DQZ, indicating a white dwarf star (D) with an atmosphere rich in carbon (Q) and heavy elements (Z). 2.84 2.92), Gamma Canis Minoris (mag. Irwin This strong . Were the Sun to be observed from this star system, it would appear to be a magnitude 2.55 star in the constellation Aquila with the exact opposite coordinates at right ascension 19h 39m 18.11950s, declination 051329.9552. This made Dionysus so angry that he unleashed a plague on Athens and inflicted insanity on all unmarried women in the city, who all hanged themselves, just like Erigone. Procyon, Sirius and Arcturus shifting enough across the sky since ancient times was what led to the discovery of proper motion in 1718. The star is a supergiant or bright giant, yellowish-white in colour, with an apparent magnitude of -0.72. Console.WriteLine(" Procyon 2: {0}", epsilonIndiDistance.Equals(procyon2Distance)); Console.WriteLine(" Wolf 424 AB: {0}", epsilonIndiDistance.Equals(wolf424ABDistance . Visual Orbits of Binary Stars, orbits of Stars A and B and their Distance (light years . Procyon or Alpha Canis Minoris (Alp CMi) is the brightest naked eye star in the constellation Canis Minor.With an apparent magnitude of 0.4, Procyon is the 8th brightest star in the entire sky (see: 50 Brightest Stars ).Its absolute magnitude is 2.68 and its distance is 11.4 light years.The Equinox J2000 equatorial coordinates are RA = 07h 39m 18.1s, Dec = +05 13' 30". The Hawaiians see Procyon as part of an asterism Ke ka o Makali'i ("the canoe bailer of Makali'i") that helps them navigate at sea. (b) 36.2 ly. The location of the Procyon in the night sky is determined by the right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.). may be becoming a subgiant star that is beginning to evolve off the Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris), image: Wikisky. Procyon, also called Alpha Canis Minoris, brightest star in the northern constellation Canis Minor (Lesser Dog) and one of the brightest in the entire sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.41. Halley compared his astrometric measurements to those given in Ptolemys Almagest (2nd century CE) and found that the fixed stars were not in fact fixed. ), According to one type of model calculations performed for the The lower the Apparent Magnitude of a star or other object is, the easier it is to see in the night sky. Mass: 18 x Sun. some star catalogues note that Star B actually appears yellowish, By Tyler Durden. He was killed by the other hunters who convinced him to go on the sea ice. The Moon will again be at apogee on the 31st of March at 13h19 at a distance of 404 . [33] Extensive observations of Procyon were carried out with the Copernicus and TD-1A satellites in the late 1970s. zone around Procyon A. Canis Many astronomers believe that the star has entered the last phase [47], Procyon appears on the flag of Brazil, symbolizing the state of Amazonas. It's also one of the reddest-looking and coldest brown dwarfs. There is no relationship between colour and size. my dad never says he's proud of me; asda passport photo booth near me. Constellation: Orion; . If It is purely that the distance was recalculated. Today, it is the star Beta Canis Minoris that is known as Gomeisa. We can measure the distance with this method using different units, but the most commonly used one is a parsec. Here in the southern hemisphere it will be Autumn Equinox on . Chapter 1 Question 23. (Leccia have made precise determination of its luminosity, colors, and Pack 3d models created with love in Ukraine. In case you're wondering, Procyon B is not located within the Solar System, and there is only one star in the Solar System, the Sun. Its existence had been postulated by German astronomer Friedrich Bessel as early as 1844, and, although its orbital elements had been calculated by his countryman Arthur Auwers in 1862 as part of his thesis,[30] ProcyonB was not visually confirmed until 1896 when John Martin Schaeberle observed it at the predicted position using the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory. In Macedonian folklore, Sirius and Procyon were known as the wolves (Volci) circling around a plough with oxen, represented by the constellation Orion. The star may appear yellowish-white, but Procyon is in fact a binary system comprising a late-stage main sequence star, and a dead white dwarf. When Icarius gave wine to some shepherds, they drank it and, believing they had been poisoned, they attacked Icarius. Here's a full list of the 44 of the closest stars to Earth: Star Name. Procyon means before the dog in Greek as it was seen to rise before the Dog Star (Sirius in Canis Major) each night. (c) what is its distance in AU. This gives us enough information to calculate the distance from the Earth to the star using trigonometric equations. In 2008, its oscillations were measured we interpret them as being due to rotational modulation from Facebook; Twitter; Pinteres; Google; Other. It is a binary star in the constellation Canis Major. They include many of Procyons bright neighbours: Sirius, Adhara, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, Alnilam, and Pollux. Biology of the Living Earth Course Aug 2020 - Dec 2020 This is a link to the Google Classroom Site for introductory High School Biology Classes (Honors and Standard) at Maywood Center for Enriched . Scientists discovered this planet, called Kepler-1649c, when looking through old observations from . orbit (e= 0.407) that takes 40.82 years to complete. Procyon and Sirius were mentioned in numerous ancient texts and played a prominent role in many ancient cultures, including Babylon and Egypt. You can decline to give a name; if that is the case, the comment will be attributed to a random star. Procyon (also known as Alpha Canis Minoris) is a binary star system, made up of companion stars named Procyon A and Procyon B about 3.49 parsecs (11.4 light-years) from Earth. and onto Procyon A before becoming a white dwarf. Procyon is orbited by a white dwarf companion first seen optically in 1896. Antares is a M1.5Iab variable red supergiant star that is about 520 light-years from Earth and is about 230 times as big as the Sun.