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.
Nu Eridani
Nu Eridani (ν Eri) is a star in the constellation Eridanus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.93. The distance to this star is roughly 520 light years, based upon an annual parallax shift of 0.00625 arcseconds. If the star were from the Sun, it would be the brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of −2.84. (Currently, the brightest star is Sirius at magnitude −1.46.)