Canopus

<a href="/facts/Celestial_coordinate_system/23HhqvHj">Coordinates</a>: <a href="http://www.wikisky.org/?ra=6.3991971944444&de=-52.695660555556&zoom=3&show_grid=1&show_constellation_lines=1&show_constellation_boundaries=1&show_const_names=1&show_galaxies=1&img_source=IMG_all">06h 23m 57.1099s, −52° 41′ 44.378″</a>

Canopus is the brightest star in the southern <a href="/facts/Constellation/nBQqgW8A">constellation</a> of <a href="/facts/Carina_(constellation)/WmAhubMs">Carina</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_brightest_stars/0vDnLEYM">second-brightest star</a> in the <a href="/facts/Night_sky/IM1PakDh">night sky</a>. It is also <a href="/facts/Bayer_designation/KU2DVT47">designated</a> α Carinae, which is <a href="/facts/Romanization/a4fl8fee">romanized</a> (<a href="/facts/Transliteration/1eemsW6o">transliterated</a>) to Alpha Carinae. With a <a href="/facts/Visual_apparent_magnitude/7pCTF1Me">visual apparent magnitude</a> of −0.74, it is outshone only by <a href="/facts/Sirius/sHCkClse">Sirius</a>.
Located around 310 <a href="/facts/Light-years/IGc5NdQb">light-years</a> from the <a href="/facts/Sun/CadPCVHh">Sun</a>, Canopus is a <a href="/facts/Bright_giant/qH3X0fuw">bright giant</a> of <a href="/facts/Spectral_type_A9/dYrIuK9H">spectral type A9</a>, so it is essentially white when seen with the naked eye. It has a luminosity over 10,000 times the <a href="/facts/Luminosity_of_the_Sun/CLG0r9bP">luminosity of the Sun</a>, is nine to ten times as <a href="/facts/Mass_of_the_Sun/j6Auhku8">massive</a>, and has expanded to 71 times the <a href="/facts/Sun%27s_radius/5t1Xavju">Sun's radius</a>. Its enlarged <a href="/facts/Photosphere/32a139LB">photosphere</a> has an <a href="/facts/Effective_temperature/RY30DaSY">effective temperature</a> of around 7400 K. Canopus is undergoing <a href="/facts/Stellar_core/ExqHCYRh">core</a> <a href="/facts/Helium_fusion/wV6lacSF">helium burning</a> and is currently in the so-called <a href="/facts/Blue_loop/zLk9lBe4">blue loop</a> phase of its <a href="/facts/Stellar_evolution/Qa4vAGmn">evolution</a>, having already passed through the <a href="/facts/Red-giant_branch/15Pg1F1F">red-giant branch</a> after exhausting the hydrogen in its core. Canopus is a <a href="/facts/X-ray_astronomy/KAQ6WxgQ">source of X-rays</a>, which are likely being emitted from its <a href="/facts/Stellar_corona/W4WNqV9u">corona</a>.
The prominent appearance of Canopus means it has been the subject of mythological lore among many ancient peoples. Its proper name is generally considered to originate from the <a href="/facts/Greek_mythology/M7k4FvW8">mythological</a> <a href="/facts/Canopus_(mythology)/qLYB9upd">Canopus</a>, who was a navigator for <a href="/facts/Menelaus/XP4PpWl5">Menelaus</a>, king of <a href="/facts/Sparta/6V9o1DSz">Sparta</a>. The <a href="/facts/Heliacal_rising/U3qpNQN7">acronycal rising</a> marked the date of the Ptolemaia festival in Egypt. In ancient India, it was named <a href="/facts/Agastya/vXT8Qm03">Agastya</a> after the revered <a href="/facts/Vedas/yQgc8B2x">Vedic</a> sage. For Chinese astronomers, it was known as the <a href="/facts/Old_Man_of_the_South_Pole/SxWAI0aq">Old Man of the South Pole</a>. In <a href="/facts/Islamic_astronomy/hw8HxDHz">Islamic astronomy</a>, it is Suhail or Suhayl, a name that is also commonly used to imply rareness of appearance (as Canopus infrequently appeared to a gazer at Middle Eastern latitutes)

Canopus open-in-new

Canopus