Canis Major

Canis Major, the largest of Orion's two hunting dogs who is chasing Lepus, the Rabbit, who is just in front of him. Lepus is just below Orion and Canis Major is just to the east of Orion.

There is not much in mythology concerning Canis Major but the bright star Sirius was a major star in the sky for many cultures. Ancient civilizations described the star as red and fiery, but today it is very white. With the exception of Sirius, Canis Major doesn't contain many significant stellar objects. M41 is an open cluster just south of Sirius; it is visible on clear nights.

Sirius, the dog's nose is the brightest star (apparent magnitude=-1.5) in the sky. Called the Dog Star, it heralded the "dog days of August" because roughly 1000 years ago it rose shortly before the sun at the start of August.

The ‘Dog Star’, is one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Only the Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mars are brighter. Those that lived near the Nile River used the star to signal the flooding of the Nile. This special occasion represented the return from the dead of the Sun god Osiris.

Canis Major contains only one Messier object M41
but does have some nice Open Clusters including:
NGC2354, NGC2360 & NGC2374