The brilliance of Canopus will flood the south of the night sky and will shine with all its intensity, so much so that it will be the second brightest star on February nights. The perfect opportunity to learn more about the celestial dome and the constellations that inhabit it.
The brightest star of all is without a doubt the Sun, which rules the Earth’s sky and gives us its warm energy. But during the nights the story changes completely and the darkened vault is dominated by the Moon, Sirius and Canopus. The latter are the two brightest stars at night.
and also because it is possible to admire it from anywhere in the world. The star belonging to the constellation Canis Maior has a apparent magnitude of -1.46which means it is the brightest of all the . Canopus which belongs to the Carina constellationis the second most attractive star in the sky with a apparent magnitude of -0.72. It must be remembered that the magnitude scale goes downwards, the lower the magnitude, the brighter the star.
Canopus, the southern star
While Sirius is impressive for its brightness, Canopus has something special and that is that it is the alpha of the southern horizon on the celestial map. In fact, it has been used for centuries as a reference to locate this cardinal point by the oldest navigators and thus avoid getting lost in the blackness of the night.
Its name in the catalog is Alpha Carinae, which means that it is the most luminous star in the Carina constellation. It has a magnitude of -0.72, making it the second brightest star, only behind the untamed Sirius. The first record of her is from approximately 2,300 years ago, when the Syrian astronomer Posidonius calculated its position near the southern horizon.
According to , Canopus is at a distance of 310 years from Earth and it is a type F0 star or a bright giant, that is, it is a much more explosive star and with temperatures higher than that of our Sun. It is estimated that it is so large that The mass of 65 suns would be required to equal its size.
How to see Canopus in the celestial vault
The magic of Canopus lies in the fact that it is impossible to see it from the northern hemisphere, so if you want to admire its explosive brilliance, you will have to travel to more southern latitudes. In the celestial vault from the southern perspective, You should turn south to admire the Carina constellation and look for its largest star.
Another of the main characteristics of Canopus is that, being located very far south, it never rises above the horizon no matter how far into the night it is, but instead describes a circular path just in the south. This is the reason why it is used as a compass to locate south, as it will always point in that direction.