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.
Rigel
Rigel (), also designated β Orionis (Latinized to Beta Orionis, abbreviated Beta Ori, β Ori), is on average the seventh-brightest star in the night sky and the brightest in the constellation of Orion—though occasionally it is outshone within the constellation by the variable star Betelgeuse. It is a luminous object some 863 light-years distant from Earth, varying irregularly between apparent magnitude +0.05 and +0.18.