Star profile

Canopus

Alpha Carinae · Carina

Highly luminous star

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Canopus

Canopus burns in the keel of the ship Argo with a fierce yellow-white glow, the second-brightest beacon of the entire night sky. Ancient mariners steered by it across southern oceans, and modern spacecraft still lock onto its light to find their bearings in the void. The glimmer reaching Earth tonight left Carina around 1716, when much of the world remained uncharted.

Where it is and when to see it

Canopus lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never rises above the horizon.
From New York it never rises above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 71° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 37° N.

It is the brightest of the 124 stars of Carina in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.

The light you see today left it about 310 years ago.

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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Canopus

Constellation: Carina
Apparent magnitude: -0.62
Distance: 309.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 95.988° · Dec -52.696°
Catalogue: HIP 30438 · HD 45348

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Carina

Carina has 124 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 124 stars in Carina