Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy

Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is an irregular dwarf galaxy in the Local Group with about a billion stars. Its percentage of red giants is high. It is thought to be the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, about 25,000 light-years from Earth. It was discovered in 2003. Some do not classify it as a galaxy and it is also cited as the Canis Major Overdensity (CMa Overdensity). It would be considered a galaxy if it formed separately from the Milky Way and a reliable determination of its systemic velocity would provide evidence regarding this. Characteristics:

• Canis Major - constellation.
• 07h12m35.0s - right ascension.
• -27deg40m00s - declination.
• 25,000 ly - distance.
• Irr - galaxy type.
• 12 degrees - angular diameter.