Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word ‘Seirios’ meaning ‘glowing’ or ‘scorching’.
Though intrinsically brighter than our own Sun, the main reason for Sirius’ high apparent brightness in the night sky is that it is a near neighbour at a distance of a mere 8.6 light years from Earth. One of the distinguishing features of Sirius is that it is a double star with the main star Sirius A accompanied by a tiny white dwarf companion Sirius B.
Sirius is known colloquially as the 'Dog Star', reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (the Greater Dog).The heliacal rising (first rise of a star at dawn, annually) of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the ‘dog days’ of summer for the Ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean.
This cache is a micro bison located in an area of public bushland. Native animals including kangaroos, birds and lizards are especially common, but as with most ACT bush areas, please be mindful of snakes in the warmer months.