Backyard Habitat Initiative
Learn how your actions at home can build complex food webs, protect watersheds, connect fragmented habitats and store carbon.
Nature Study Series
Join us as we explore the lives of birds in this fascinating 6-part series. Perfect for casual feeder-watchers and avid birders alike, this course would make a great holiday gift!
Native Plant Sale
View catalogs for our Native Plant Sale and plan your gardens now. Online ordering will begin on April 1st!
Run Wild!
Run Wild on the trails at TWC! Celebrate Earth Day with a 10K, 5K or One Mile Fun Run – organized with special safety precautions.
TWC Nature Store
Support TWC while you do your holiday shopping. Now selling birdseed, books, apparel and more!
Your Wild Classroom
Enhance your elementary student’s natural science studies with monthly courses that will get your child outside – observing, studying, and learning.
Consulting Forestry
TWC Consulting Forestry is a professional consulting business that provides complete forest management and timber services for private landowners.
Foxfield Preserve
Foxfield Preserve is a conservation burial ground operated by The Wilderness Center, offering a beautiful resting place and a meaningful legacy.
Calendar & Upcoming Events
Racoons and The Other Dog Star
When you hear “dog star” you probably think of Sirius in Canis Major, “the Big Dog.” However, there is another dog star, Procyon, in Canis Minor, “the Little Dog.” Canis Minor is the smaller of Orion’s two hunting dogs. And Procyon forms one of the vertices in the Winter Triangle asterism. It is the brightest star in Canis Minor and the eighth brightest star in the sky. Being about 11 light years from Earth, its practically in our backyard!
Procyon is a double star with a smaller, faint, white dwarf companion. The pair orbit each other once every 41 years. This faint companion is now considered a dead star. Procyon itself is nearing the end of its life. In the next 10 to 100 million years, it will become a red giant star and will end its life as a white dwarf star like its companion.
The name “Procyon” is Greek meaning “before the dog.” This comes from a time when Procyon rose before Sirius in the sky. Procyon can still be seen rising before Sirius from mid-northern latitudes, however, from the southern latitudes Sirius now rises before Procyon. This change in rising is due the Earth’s motion called precession.
“Procyon” is also the genus designation of raccoons. Early taxonomists thought the raccoon was related to such taxonomic groups as dogs, cats, badgers, and bears. In 1780 Gottlieb Storr placed the raccoon in its own genus, Procyon. Perhaps Storr had the raccoon’s nocturnal lifestyle in mind when choosing the star Procyon as the genus name for these species.
The best time to see our little dog star is from late winter through spring. By March it is high overhead during the early evening hours. Enjoy looking at Procyon and look around - maybe you’ll see a racoon too!
Image 1: Location of Procyon
Image 2: Procyon and the Winter Triangle
