Constellation · Northern sky · Spring

Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs

KAY-neez veh-NAT-ih-sye · genitive Canum Venaticorum · CVn

Two stars under the handle of the Big Dipper, the dogs of Boötes. Canes Venatici is one of the best galaxy fields in the northern sky: the Whirlpool, the Sunflower, M94, M106 and the Whale, plus the globular cluster M3.

0h 6h 12h 18h
Where Canes Venatici sits on the whole sky. Gold line: the ecliptic.
Canes Venatici star chart with deep-sky objects Cor Caroli BOÖTES URSA MAJOR Whirlpool Galaxy | Galaxy | mag 8.4 M51 Messier 3 | Globular cluster | mag 6.4 M3 Sunflower Galaxy | Galaxy | mag 8.6 M63 Messier 94 | Galaxy | mag 8.2 M94 Messier 106 | Galaxy | mag 8.4 M106 Whale Galaxy | Galaxy | mag 9.2 NGC 4631 Cor Caroli | Double star | mag 2.9 α CVn La Superba | Variable star | mag 5.4 Y CVn NE

Swipe sideways to pan the chart.

Stars to magnitude 8, IAU boundary and stick figure, J2000. Click any object to open its page; click a neighboring constellation's name to go there. Nebula Open cluster Galaxy Planetary nebula Dark nebula Double star
Area
465 sq°rank 38 of 88
Best month
Mayat 9 pm
Visible from
90°N to 40°S
Brightest star
Cor Caroli (mag 2.89)
Messier
5M3 M51 M63 M94 M106
Caldwell
4C21 C26 C29 C32
Cataloged objects
703in 12 catalogs

Two stars under the Big Dipper's handle

The dogs are Cor Caroli and Chara, about 10° south of the Big Dipper's handle. The rest of the constellation is faint, but rich in galaxies.

  • Alkaid to M51: 3.5° southwest of Alkaid, the end of the Dipper's handle.
  • Cor Caroli to M94: 3° north, forming a triangle with Chara.
  • Arcturus to M3: halfway between Arcturus and Cor Caroli.

High on spring evenings

Canes Venatici is highest at 9 pm in May and passes nearly overhead from 40°N. North of about 50°N, Cor Caroli never sets.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 60°N JAN at 60°N: 22° high at 9 pm FEB at 60°N: 33° high at 9 pm MAR at 60°N: 46° high at 9 pm APR at 60°N: 61° high at 9 pm MAY at 60°N: 72° high at 9 pm JUN at 60°N: 67° high at 9 pm JUL at 60°N: 54° high at 9 pm AUG at 60°N: 39° high at 9 pm SEP at 60°N: 26° high at 9 pm OCT at 60°N: 17° high at 9 pm NOV at 60°N: 12° high at 9 pm DEC at 60°N: 14° high at 9 pm 50°N JAN at 50°N: 14° high at 9 pm FEB at 50°N: 28° high at 9 pm MAR at 50°N: 44° high at 9 pm APR at 50°N: 64° high at 9 pm MAY at 50°N: 81° high at 9 pm JUN at 50°N: 72° high at 9 pm JUL at 50°N: 53° high at 9 pm AUG at 50°N: 35° high at 9 pm SEP at 50°N: 19° high at 9 pm OCT at 50°N: 8° high at 9 pm NOV at 50°N: 3° high at 9 pm DEC at 50°N: 5° high at 9 pm 40°N JAN at 40°N: 6° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°N: 22° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°N: 41° high at 9 pm APR at 40°N: 62° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°N: 84° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°N: 72° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°N: 51° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°N: 30° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°N: 12° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°N: -1° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°N: -7° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°N: -5° high at 9 pm 30°N JAN at 30°N: -2° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°N: 16° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°N: 36° high at 9 pm APR at 30°N: 58° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°N: 76° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°N: 68° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°N: 46° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°N: 24° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°N: 4° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°N: -10° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°N: -17° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°N: -14° high at 9 pm 20°N JAN at 20°N: -10° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°N: 10° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°N: 30° high at 9 pm APR at 20°N: 52° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°N: 67° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°N: 60° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°N: 41° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°N: 18° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°N: -3° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°N: -19° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°N: -27° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°N: -24° high at 9 pm 10°N JAN at 10°N: -18° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°N: 3° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°N: 23° high at 9 pm APR at 10°N: 44° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°N: 57° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°N: 52° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°N: 34° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°N: 12° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°N: -10° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°N: -28° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°N: -37° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°N: -33° high at 9 pm 0° JAN at 0°: -26° high at 9 pm FEB at 0°: -4° high at 9 pm MAR at 0°: 16° high at 9 pm APR at 0°: 36° high at 9 pm MAY at 0°: 47° high at 9 pm JUN at 0°: 43° high at 9 pm JUL at 0°: 27° high at 9 pm AUG at 0°: 5° high at 9 pm SEP at 0°: -17° high at 9 pm OCT at 0°: -36° high at 9 pm NOV at 0°: -47° high at 9 pm DEC at 0°: -43° high at 9 pm 10°S JAN at 10°S: -33° high at 9 pm FEB at 10°S: -10° high at 9 pm MAR at 10°S: 9° high at 9 pm APR at 10°S: 28° high at 9 pm MAY at 10°S: 37° high at 9 pm JUN at 10°S: 34° high at 9 pm JUL at 10°S: 19° high at 9 pm AUG at 10°S: -2° high at 9 pm SEP at 10°S: -24° high at 9 pm OCT at 10°S: -45° high at 9 pm NOV at 10°S: -57° high at 9 pm DEC at 10°S: -52° high at 9 pm 20°S JAN at 20°S: -39° high at 9 pm FEB at 20°S: -17° high at 9 pm MAR at 20°S: 2° high at 9 pm APR at 20°S: 19° high at 9 pm MAY at 20°S: 27° high at 9 pm JUN at 20°S: 24° high at 9 pm JUL at 20°S: 11° high at 9 pm AUG at 20°S: -9° high at 9 pm SEP at 20°S: -31° high at 9 pm OCT at 20°S: -52° high at 9 pm NOV at 20°S: -67° high at 9 pm DEC at 20°S: -60° high at 9 pm 30°S JAN at 30°S: -45° high at 9 pm FEB at 30°S: -23° high at 9 pm MAR at 30°S: -5° high at 9 pm APR at 30°S: 10° high at 9 pm MAY at 30°S: 17° high at 9 pm JUN at 30°S: 15° high at 9 pm JUL at 30°S: 3° high at 9 pm AUG at 30°S: -15° high at 9 pm SEP at 30°S: -37° high at 9 pm OCT at 30°S: -58° high at 9 pm NOV at 30°S: -77° high at 9 pm DEC at 30°S: -67° high at 9 pm 40°S JAN at 40°S: -50° high at 9 pm FEB at 40°S: -29° high at 9 pm MAR at 40°S: -13° high at 9 pm APR at 40°S: 1° high at 9 pm MAY at 40°S: 7° high at 9 pm JUN at 40°S: 5° high at 9 pm JUL at 40°S: -5° high at 9 pm AUG at 40°S: -22° high at 9 pm SEP at 40°S: -41° high at 9 pm OCT at 40°S: -63° high at 9 pm NOV at 40°S: -85° high at 9 pm DEC at 40°S: -72° high at 9 pm below horizon low 20-40° 40-60° overhead-ish
Altitude of the constellation's center at 9 pm local time on the 15th of each month. Computed from its position, for any longitude.

Canes Venatici's best targets are galaxies and M3

Canes Venatici looks out of the Milky Way near the north galactic pole. Five Messier objects fall inside its boundary: the globular cluster M3 and the galaxies M51, M63, M94 and M106. Four Caldwell objects include the Whale Galaxy, the Box Galaxy and NGC 4244.

Best targets
ObjectTypeMagSizeDistanceBest with
Whirlpool GalaxyM51 · NGC 5194/5195Galaxy8.411′ × 7′28 million lyTelescope
Messier 3M3 · NGC 5272Globular cluster6.418′33,200 lyBinoculars
Sunflower GalaxyM63 · NGC 5055Galaxy8.612.6′ × 7.2′29 million lyTelescope
Messier 94M94 · NGC 4736Galaxy8.211.2′ × 9′14 million lyTelescope
Messier 106M106 · NGC 4258Galaxy8.418.6′ × 7.2′25 million lyTelescope
Whale GalaxyNGC 4631 · C32Galaxy9.214′ × 2.2′24 million lyTelescope
Cor Caroliα CVn · double starDouble star2.919″ split115 lyTelescope
La SuperbaY CVnVariable star5.4star~1,000 lyBinoculars
CANES VENATICI

On each object page: a locator like this one shows where Whirlpool Galaxy sits in Canes Venatici. The box marks a 2.5° field, about what 10×50 binoculars show.

Turned sideways: Chara is 28 light-years away, the galaxies 14 to 29 million

Chara, a Sun-like star, is 28 light-years away and Cor Caroli 115.

M3 is 33,000 light-years away. M94 is 14 million light-years away, the Whale and M106 about 25 million, and the Whirlpool and the Sunflower about 28 to 29 million.

Canes Venatici turned sideways: how far away each star and object is STARS YOU CAN SEE MILKY WAY OTHER GALAXIES 10 ly 100 ly 1,000 ly 10,000 ly 100,000 ly 1 million ly 10 million ly 100 million ly EARTH Cor Caroli: 115 lyCor Caroli115 ly Chara: 28 lyChara28 ly CVn: 185 ly CVn185 ly CVn: 255 ly CVn255 ly CVn: 526 ly CVn526 ly CVn: 376 ly CVn376 ly CVn: 184 ly CVn184 ly CVn: 153 ly CVn153 ly CVn: 473 ly CVn473 ly CVn: 246 ly CVn246 ly Whirlpool Galaxy: 28 million lyWhirlpool Galaxy28 million ly M3: 33,200 lyM333,200 ly Sunflower Galaxy: 29 million lySunflower Galaxy29 million ly M94: 14 million lyM9414 million ly M106: 25 million lyM10625 million ly Whale Galaxy: 24 million lyWhale Galaxy24 million ly Cor Caroli: 115 lyCor Caroli115 ly La Superba: ~1,000 lyLa Superba~1,000 ly
Side view: distance from Earth on a logarithmic scale, each step ten times farther. The vertical position of every star and object is unchanged. Stick-figure lines join only stars with measured distances.

Brightest stars in Canes Venatici

StarDesignationMagDistanceSpectral class
Cor Caroliα2 CVn2.89115 lyA0spe
Charaβ CVn4.2428 lyG0V
CVn CVn4.68185 lyA5V
CVn CVn4.72255 lyF3III
CVn CVn4.76376 lyG7III
CVn CVn4.76526 lyK5III
CVn CVn4.82184 lyA7III
CVn CVn4.91153 lyF2IV SB
CVn CVn4.94473 lyK0III
CVn CVn5.01246 lyG8III-IV

Every cataloged object in Canes Venatici

The table above is the short list. Below is everything the major catalogs place inside the IAU boundary of Canes Venatici, mostly galaxies. Open a catalog to see its brightest members. Each list shows up to 25; longer lists link to the full catalog page.

Messier5
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
M3globular cluster6.433,200 ly
M94Cat's Eye Galaxyspiral galaxy8.214.4 million ly
M51Whirlpool Galaxyspiral galaxy8.427.9 million ly
M63Sunflower Galaxyspiral galaxy8.629.4 million ly
M106spiral galaxy24.7 million ly
Caldwell4
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
C32Whale Galaxybarred spiral galaxy9.224.1 million ly
C21Box Galaxyirregular galaxy9.413.6 million ly
C29spiral galaxy9.854.1 million ly
C26Silver Needle Galaxyspiral galaxy10.214.3 million ly
Herschel 40017
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
NGC 4258galaxy8.324.7 million ly
NGC 4631Whale Galaxygalaxy9.324.1 million ly
NGC 4449galaxy9.413.6 million ly
NGC 5195Whirlpool Galaxy companiongalaxy9.627.9 million ly
NGC 4490Cocoon Galaxygalaxy9.822.6 million ly
NGC 4214galaxy9.89.2 million ly
NGC 5005galaxy9.854.1 million ly
NGC 5033galaxy10.060.5 million ly
NGC 4656Hockey Stick Galaxygalaxy10.023.5 million ly
NGC 4618galaxy10.824.3 million ly
NGC 4111galaxy10.847.9 million ly
NGC 4485galaxy12.022.6 million ly
NGC 4800galaxy12.041.4 million ly
NGC 4346galaxy12.045.7 million ly
NGC 4143galaxy12.051.5 million ly
NGC 5273galaxy12.254 million ly
NGC 4151galaxy51.6 million ly
NGC226
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
NGC 5272globular cluster6.3933,200 ly
NGC 4736galaxy8.2414.4 million ly
NGC 5194Whirlpool Galaxygalaxy8.3627.9 million ly
NGC 5055Sunflower Galaxygalaxy8.6129.4 million ly
NGC 4631Whale Galaxygalaxy9.2424.1 million ly
NGC 4258galaxy9.2924.7 million ly
NGC 5195galaxy9.5827.9 million ly
NGC 4449galaxy9.6413.6 million ly
NGC 4490Cocoon Galaxygalaxy9.7222.6 million ly
NGC 4214galaxy9.779.2 million ly
NGC 4244galaxy10.114.3 million ly
NGC 4395galaxy10.215.2 million ly
NGC 5033galaxy10.660.5 million ly
NGC 5005galaxy10.754.1 million ly
NGC 4618galaxy10.724.3 million ly
NGC 4111galaxy10.847.9 million ly
NGC 5353galaxy11.0111.6 million ly
NGC 4242galaxy11.023.8 million ly
NGC 4217galaxy11.258.9 million ly
NGC 4145galaxy11.249.4 million ly
NGC 5377galaxy11.280.2 million ly
NGC 4220galaxy11.364.3 million ly
NGC 5354galaxy11.3-
NGC 4151galaxy11.451.6 million ly
NGC 5350galaxy11.484 million ly
The 25 brightest of 226 in Canes Venatici
IC292
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
IC 4339star11.5-
IC 4182galaxy11.614 million ly
IC 3687galaxy13.314.6 million ly
IC 4336galaxy14.0138 million ly
IC 3808galaxy17.1-
IC 4165galaxy17.9-
IC 3697galaxy-
IC 3703star-
IC 3707star-
IC 3713galaxy255.4 million ly
IC 3729galaxy-
IC 3717galaxy-
IC 3723galaxy133.1 million ly
IC 3726galaxy-
IC 3680star-
IC 3675duplicate-
IC 883galaxy322 million ly
IC 3002galaxy-
IC 3014galaxy-
IC 3022galaxy297.3 million ly
IC 4371galaxy-
IC 3503star-
IC 3667duplicate-
IC 3668other-
IC 3669other-
The 25 brightest of 292 in Canes Venatici
Globular clusters1
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Messier 36.1933,200 ly
Arp peculiar galaxies14
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Arp 85Whirlpool Galaxyspiral8.3627.9 million ly
Arp 281Whale Galaxygroup9.2424.1 million ly
Arp 269Cocoon Galaxypair9.7222.6 million ly
Arp 23spiral10.724.3 million ly
Arp 84The Heron Galaxyspiral11.6170.6 million ly
Arp 266amorphous12.331.7 million ly
Arp 111elliptical14.3358 million ly
Arp 211amorphous15.419.6 million ly
Arp 265amorphous202.7 million ly
Arp 193amorphous322 million ly
Arp 183amorphous230.3 million ly
Arp 40spiral786.9 million ly
Arp 36spiral232.8 million ly
Arp 334miscellaneous366.5 million ly
Hickson compact groups2
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
HCG 6811.0111.1 million ly
HCG 70888.4 million ly
Abell galaxy clusters86
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Abell 1800415.41,030 million ly
Abell 1781415.4859 million ly
Abell 1691415.4989 million ly
Abell 1831415.4843 million ly
Abell 1749416.0781 million ly
Abell 1813416.0-
Abell 1793416.4-
Abell 1666416.8-
Abell 1673416.9-
Abell 1680417.0-
Abell 1509417.0-
Abell 1637417.0-
Abell 1812417.0-
Abell 1715417.0-
Abell 1723417.0-
Abell 1694417.2-
Abell 1685417.2-
Abell 1593417.2-
Abell 1717417.2-
Abell 1578417.2-
Abell 1710417.2-
Abell 1551417.2-
Abell 1542417.2-
Abell 1746417.2-
Abell 1672417.22,510 million ly
The 25 brightest of 86 in Canes Venatici
Double stars1
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Alpha Canum VenaticorumCor Carolidouble2.9115 ly
Carbon stars1
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Y CVnLa SuperbaC5 (N3)4.861,012 ly
Nearby stars (Gliese)54
DesignationNameTypeMagDistance
Gl 475Chara44.2428 ly
Gl 48410 Canum Venaticorum55.9557 ly
Gl 47446.24386 ly
Gl 48357.0147 ly
NN 370647.4682 ly
Gl 501.158.07444 ly
NN 377658.181,023 ly
Gl 508A58.4835 ly
Gl 509A58.8859 ly
Gl 51959.0636 ly
Gl 459.249.162,458 ly
Gl 49859.2670 ly
Wo 942759.2881 ly
Gl 518.2A59.32249 ly
Gl 46249.3652 ly
Wo 942059.46110 ly
Gl 507A59.4845 ly
Gl 509B59.8059 ly
Gl 508B59.8035 ly
Gl 537A59.8537 ly
Gl 537B59.9537 ly
Gl 521510.2444 ly
Wo 9448A510.44104 ly
NN 3765510.46773 ly
Gl 458.2410.5575 ly
The 25 brightest of 54 in Canes Venatici

The first spiral galaxy seen as a spiral

  • Lord Rosse's Whirlpool. In 1845 William Parsons, the Third Earl of Rosse, used his 72-inch telescope in Ireland to see spiral structure in M51, the first "spiral nebula" recognized.
  • M106's maser. Clouds of water vapor orbiting M106's central black hole act as natural masers. Tracking them gave a precise geometric distance to the galaxy, used to calibrate the cosmic distance scale.
  • Variable stars in M3. M3 contains more than 200 known variable stars, more than any other globular cluster.

Canes Venatici video tour

Canes Venatici Constellation: Deep Sky Tour · Watch on YouTube

The dogs of Boötes

Johannes Hevelius created the constellation in 1687, as two dogs, Asterion and Chara, held on a leash by Boötes as he chases the Great Bear. Cor Caroli, "heart of Charles", honors King Charles I or II of England. In Chinese astronomy Cor Caroli belongs to Changchen (常陳), the Imperial Guards.

Constellations bordering Canes Venatici

Canes Venatici shares its IAU boundary with 3 constellations.