Object Analysis

Procyon B is the white dwarf companion to the bright star Procyon A in the constellation Canis Minor. It is one of the closest white dwarfs to Earth, located only 11.4 light-years away. While Procyon A is easily visible to the naked eye, Procyon B is very faint and difficult to observe because it is "lost" in the glare of its much brighter partner.

Procyon B has a mass of about 0.6 times that of the Sun, but it is roughly the same size as the Earth. This means its material is incredibly dense; a teaspoon of its matter would weigh several tons. It is the dead core of a star that was once much more massive than our Sun.

The two stars orbit each other every 40.8 years. Procyon B is a glimpse into the distant future of our own Sun; in about 5 billion years, after the Sun has exhausted its fuel and shed its outer layers, it too will become a small, cooling white dwarf, much like Procyon B is today.