Zeta Canis Majoris is a spectroscopic binary in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Canis Major

Canis Major

Canis Major is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was included in the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Its name is Latin for 'greater dog', and is commonly represented as one of the dogs following Orion the hunter...

. It has the traditional name Furud or Phurud, from the Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 ألفرد al-furud meaning the bright single ones or, perhaps by a transcriber's error, from Al Ḳurūd (ألقرد - al-qird), the Apes, or Al Agribah (أل أغربة), the Raven by Al Sufi, referring to the surrounding small stars with some of those of Columba (ζ CMa, λ CMa

Lambda Canis Majoris

Lambda Canis Majoris is a star in the constellation Canis Major. This star, along with ζ CMa, γ Col, δ Col, θ Col, κ Col, λ Col, μ Col and ξ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes....

, γ Col

Gamma Columbae

Gamma Columbae is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Columba. It is approximately 854 light years from Earth. This star, along with ζ CMa, λ CMa, δ Col, θ Col, κ Col, λ Col, μ Col and ξ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes....

, δ Col

Delta Columbae

Delta Columbae is a spectroscopic binary yellow giant star in the constellation Columba. It has the uncommon traditional name Ghusn al Zaitun, from the Arabic الغصن الزيتون al-ghuşn al-zaitūn "the olive branch".....

, θ Col

Theta Columbae

Theta Columbae is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Columba.This star, along with ζ CMa, λ CMa, γ Col, δ Col, κ Col, λ Col, μ Col and ξ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes.....

, κ Col

Kappa Columbae

Kappa Columbae is a giant star in the constellation Columba.This star, along with ζ CMa, λ CMa, γ Col, δ Col, θ Col, λ Col, μ Col and ξ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes.....

, λ Col

Lambda Columbae

Lambda Columbae is a blue dwarf star in the constellation Columba. It is approximately 342 light years from Earth. This star, along with ζ CMa, λ CMa, γ Col, δ Col, θ Col, κ Col, μ Col and ξ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes....

, μ Col

Mu Columbae

Mu Columbae is a star in the constellation of Columba. It is one of the few O-class stars that is visible to the unaided eye. The star is known to lie approximately 1,300 light years from our solar system .This is a relatively fast rotating star that completes a full revolution approximately every...

 and ξ Col

Xi Columbae

Xi Columbae is a yellow-orange giant star in the constellation Columba. This star, along with ζ CMa, λ CMa, γ Col, δ Col, θ Col, κ Col, λ Col and μ Col, were Al Ḳurūd , the Apes.-References:#...

). ζ Canis Majoris is approximately 336 light years from Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

The primary component, ζ Canis Majoris A, is a blue-white B-type

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 main sequence dwarf

Main sequence

The main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell...

 with an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

of +3.02. It has an unseen companion, ζ Canis Majoris B. The two stars orbit around their common centre of mass once every 675 days.