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AludraAludra is the proper name of the star η Canis Majoris in the constellation Canis Major. Aludra shines brightly in the skies in spite of a large distance from Earth due to being intrinsically many times brighter than the Sun. A blue supergiant, Aludra has only been around a fraction of the time our Sun has yet is already in the last stages of its life. It is still expanding and may be becoming a red supergiant, or perhaps has already passed that phase, but in either case it will go supernova within the next few million years. The name Aludra originates from the Arabic: عذرا al-arā "the virgin". In ancient times Arabic astrologers/astronomers referred to a group of four stars in the Canis Major constellation, also known as the "Greater Dog", as Al 'Adhara "the virgins". Canis Majoris, Eta
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