Canopus is the second-brightest star in Earth’s sky. But many in the northern hemisphere never see it, because Canopus is located far to the south
Soheil means Canopus star that is symble of rare thing in persian literature
How to see it
The second-brightest star in all the heavens, as seen from Earth, Canopus is located far to the south on the celestial sphere, the imaginary sphere of stars surrounding Earth. Hence observers in the northern U.S. and similar latitudes never see it, while observers at latitudes like those in the southern U.S. enjoy this star in the evening only during the winter months. Canopus is almost directly south of Sirius, the brightest star of the nighttime sky. So when Sirius is at its highest point to the south, Canopus is about 36 degrees below it.
Will you see it? It depends on how far south you are, and what time of year you’re looking. If you’re in the far southern U.S., you’ll have no trouble finding Canopus on winter evenings. Just look to the south, below brilliant Sirius. At the end of December, Canopus stands at is highest point to the south after midnight. A month later it reaches that point at about 10 p.m. By the beginning of March it is due south at about 8 p.m., although the exact timing on all of these dates depends on the observer’s geographic location.
Meanwhile, Canopus never even rises above the horizon for locations north of about 37 degrees north latitude. In the United States, that line runs from roughly Richmond, Virginia; westward to Bowling Green, Kentucky; through Trinidad, Colorado; and onward to San Jose, California – just south of San Francisco.
Of course, for observers in the southern hemisphere it is an entirely different story. From latitudes south of the equator, both Canopus and Sirius – the sky’s two brightest stars – appear high in the sky, and they often appear together. They are like twin beacons crossing the heavens together. The sight of them is enough to make a northern observer envy the southern skies!
History and Myth
As Alpha Carinae, Canopus is the brightest star in the Keel, a part of the former constellation of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and his famed Argonauts. Canopus originally marked a keel or rudder of this ancient celestial ship. Alas, the great Argo Navis constellation no longer exists. Modern imaginations see it as broken into three parts: the Keel (Carina, of which Canopus is part), sails (Vela) and the poop deck (Puppis).
For those far enough south to see it, Canopus was a star of great importance from ancient times to modern times as a primary navigational star. This is surely due to its brightness.
The origin of the name Canopus is subject to question. By some accounts it is the name of a ship’s captain from the Trojan War. Another theory is that it is from ancient Egyptian meaning Golden Earth, a possible reference to the star’s appearance as seen through atmospheric haze near the horizon from Egyptian latitudes.
Science
According to data obtained by the Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission, Canopus is about 313 light-years away. Spectroscopically, it is an F0 type star, making it significantly hotter than our sun (roughly 13,600 degrees F at its surface, compared to about 10,000 degrees F for the sun). Canopus also has a luminosity class rating of II, which makes it a “bright giant” star much larger than the sun. (Some classifications make it a type Ia “supergiant”.”) Placed side by side, it would take about 65 suns to fit across Canopus. Although Canopus appears significantly less bright than Sirius, it is really much brighter, blazing with the brilliance of 14,000 suns! With non-visible forms of light energy factored in, it surpasses the sun by more than 15,000 times.
Although its exact age is unknown, Canopus’ great mass dictates that this star must be near the end of its lifetime, and is likely is a few million to a few tens of millions of years old. Compared to our sedate middle-aged 5-billion year old sun, Canopus has lived in the fast lane and is destined to die young
source: http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/few-know-the-second-brightest-star-canopus
