Procyon resides in the small constellation of Canis Minor, the Little Dog. The constellation symbolizes the smaller of Orion's two hunting dogs (the other is, of course, Canis Major).

The word procyon is Greek for "before the dog," for in the northern hemisphere, Procyon announces the rise of Sirius, the Dog Star.

Procyon is a yellow-white, main-sequence star, twice the size and seven times as luminous as the Sun. Like Alpha Centauri, it appears so bright because at 11.4 light-years, it is relatively close.

Procyon is an example of a main sequence subgiant star, one that is starting to die as it converts its remaining core hydrogen into helium. Procyon is currently twice the diameter of the Sun, one of the largest stars within 20 light-years.

Canis Major can be found fairly easily east of Orion during northern-hemisphere winter. Procyon, along with Sirius and Betelgeuse, form the Winter Triangle asterism.

Procyon is orbited by a white-dwarf companion detected visually in 1896 by John M. Schaeberle. The fainter companion's existence was first noted in 1840, however, by Arthur von Auswers, who observed irregularities in Procyon's proper motion that were best explained by a massive and dim companion.

At just one-third the size of Earth, the companion dubbed Procyon B has the equivalent of 60 percent of the Sun's mass. The brighter component is now known as Procyon A.