Nestled in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici, Latin for “the Hunting Dogs,” the double star 17 Canum Venaticorum offers a nice wide double star for backyard astronomers. Observers can catch this pair in the northern sky in the spring and early summer months.
The primary star (17 Canum Venaticorum) is white in color and fairly bright, with a magnitude of +5.9. It appears pearly white and has the stellar classification of A9IV. The secondary star (designated as 16 Canum Venaticorum) is a slightly dimmer white star at magnitude +6.3, lying 275 arcseconds away. The large distance between the two allows those with smaller scopes to easily distinguish the stars, which make their celestial home 206 light years away from Earth.1
My Observations
This is a nice double star, and it’s easy to split with my telescope. The stars are close to the same in brightness. Both appear off-white, somewhat grayish, to me. The notable observer Sissy Hass observed the two as “pearly white” and “sapphire white.”2
As I gaze at this pair shining through the eyepiece, my thoughts drift to William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who captured the iconic “Earthrise” photograph during his orbit around the moon in December 1968. Mr. Anders passed away earlier today in a plane crash at the age of 90, about 75 miles north of where I observe tonight. Thanks to individuals like Mr. Anders, future generations will be inspired to “look up” and appreciate the beauty of the universe. I believe he would have loved a clear, beautiful night like tonight.
| Date | June 7, 2024 |
| Time | 10:50 p.m. |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Magnification | 169x |
| Scope | Meade 8″ SCT |
| Eyepiece | 12mm |
| Seeing | Above Average |
| Transparency | Above Average |
Key Stats
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Best Viewing | Spring |
| Visual Magnitude | +5.9 | +6.3 |
| Distance from Earth | 206 ly |
| Separation | 275″ |
| Milky Way Location | Orion Spur |
| My Viewing Grade | B+ |
| Designations | 17 CVn, STFA 24, SAO 63380, HD 114447, HR 4971, HIP 64246, 16 CVn |
Sources and Notes
The double star banner on this page is an artist’s impression showing the double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227 in our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. This media was created by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
1 Stelle Doppie. (n.d.). 17 CVn. Stelle Doppie. https://www.stelledoppie.it/index2.php?iddoppia=56074
2 cloudynights. (2016, April 24). 16 & 17 Canum Venaticorum – A difference in whites finally. Cloudy Nights. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/535033-16-17-canum-venaticorum-a-difference-in-whites-finally/
Sketch by Wayne McGraw
The Garden Astronomer 
These are gorgeous…wow. Could these stars be easily found without a telescope? As always, thanks for sharing your work and passion from just venturing into the starry night skies and being in awe of all that God has created!!
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