What is the Canis Major Dwarf?

The Canis Major Dwarf is an irregular dwarf galaxy that is a satellite of our own Milky Way Galaxy. It lies in the constellation Canis Major at a distance of only 25,000 light-years from the Sun and 42,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. When it dies, the resulting explosion will release more energy than 100 supernovae and emit enormous quantities of gamma rays. These gamma rays can actually pose a threat to nearby stars and planets. They are strong enough to destroy any life that may reside there if the planets are unfortunate enough to be in range.  Fortunately for us, if this is, in fact, VY Canis Majoris’ fate, it is so far away that Earth will not be affected.  Several globular clusters in the Milky Way, which are loosely grouped around the nucleus of the Canis Major Dwarf, including M79, NGC 1851, NGC 2298, and NGC 2808, are also thought to have come from the satellite system. Indeed this little companion galaxy, astronomers suspect, may have increased the mass of our Galaxy by up to 1% over the course of many millions of years.

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