Editing Canis Minor (section)

== Characteristics ==
Lying directly south of Gemini's bright stars [[Castor (star)|Castor]] and [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]],<ref name="sky">{{cite book|last=Newell|first=W.J.|title=The Australian Sky|publisher=Jacaranda Press|location=Brisbane, Queensland |year=1970|orig-year=1965|page=53 | isbn = 978-0-7016-0037-2 |oclc = 7053675}} (invalid isbn)</ref> Canis Minor is a small constellation bordered by [[Monoceros]] to the south, Gemini to the north, [[Cancer (constellation)|Cancer]] to the northeast, and [[Hydra (constellation)|Hydra]] to the east. It does not border [[Canis Major]]; Monoceros is in between the two. Covering 183 square degrees, Canis Minor ranks seventy-first of the 88 constellations in size. It appears prominently in the southern sky during the [[Northern Hemisphere]]'s winter.<ref name="garfinkle1997">{{cite book | first=Robert A. |last=Garfinkle | title=Star-hopping: Your Visa to Viewing the Universe | publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England | year=1997 | pages=78–81 | isbn = 978-0-521-59889-7 }}</ref> The constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer [[Eugène Delporte]] in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 14 sides. In the [[equatorial coordinate system]], the [[right ascension]] coordinates of these borders lie between {{RA|07|06.4}} and {{RA|08|11.4}}, while the [[declination]] coordinates are between {{dec|13.22}} and {{dec|−0.36}}.<ref name="boundary">{{cite journal | title=Canis Minor, Constellation Boundary | journal=The Constellations | url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/#cmi | access-date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> Most visible in the evening sky from January to March,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellyard |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Gn0ivM4EK0C&pg=PA4 |title=The Southern Sky Guide |last2=Tirion |first2=Wil |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-71405-1 |edition=3rd |location=Port Melbourne, Victoria |page=4 |authorlink2=Wil Tirion |orig-year=1993}}</ref> Canis Minor is most prominent at 10 p.m. during mid-February.<ref>{{cite book |title = The Monthly Sky Guide |last1 = Ridpath |first1 = Ian |last2 = Tirion |first2 = Wil |date = 13 November 2006 |edition = 7th |publisher = Cambridge University Press |location = Cambridge, England |pages = 21–22 |isbn = 978-0-521-68435-4}}</ref> It is then seen earlier in the evening until July, when it is only visible after sunset before setting itself, and rising in the morning sky before dawn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rasnz.org.nz/Stars/Canis.htm|title=Canis Major and Canis Minor, 2 Constellations for February|last=Rodmell|first=Paul|publisher=Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand|access-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114221231/http://www.rasnz.org.nz/Stars/Canis.htm|archive-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> The constellation's three-letter abbreviation, as adopted by the [[International Astronomical Union]] in 1922, is "CMi".<ref name="pa30_469">{{cite journal | last=Russell | first=Henry Norris |authorlink = Henry Norris Russell | title=The New International Symbols for the Constellations | journal=[[Popular Astronomy (US magazine)|Popular Astronomy]] | volume=30 | pages=469–71 |bibcode=1922PA.....30..469R | year=1922}}</ref>