Canis Major
Canis Major is a prominent constellation because of its many bright stars. These include Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris), the brightest star in the night sky, as well as three other stars above magnitude 2.0. Furthermore, two other stars are thought to have previously outshone all others in the night sky—Adhara (Epsilon Canis Majoris) shone at -3.99 around 4.7 million years ago, and Mirzam (Beta Canis Majoris) peaked at −3.65 around 4.42 million years ago. Another, NR Canis Majoris, will be brightest at magnitude −0.88 in about 2.87 million years' time.
Star
As of 2006, the star with the highest known absolute magnitude is LBV 1806-20, with a magnitude of −14.2. This star is at least 5,000,000 times more luminous than the Sun. The least luminous stars that are currently known are located in the NGC 6397 cluster. The faintest red dwarfs in the cluster were magnitude 26, while a 28th magnitude white dwarf was also discovered. These faint stars are so dim that their light is as bright as a birthday candle on the Moon when viewed from the Earth.