Canopus Star
Constellation: Carina
Star facts
Canopus is a super giant star. 0.0001% of stars are super giants, like Canopus. Canopus fuses carbon and oxygen into neon and silicon. Canopus is 9x as heavy as our Sun, and 71.4x as big as our Sun. Canopus is 313 light-years away from Earth. Its luminosity is 15,100x as bright as our Sun. The temperature of Canopus is 7,350 kelvins. It is white in color to the naked eye.
Basic Information
Myth: In mythology, Canopus was the pilot of a Spartan ship during the Trojan war. He died because of a snake bite.
Canopus is a single star system. It belongs to the constellation Carina.
Canopus is the 2nd brightest star seen in the sky.
Stages of star life cycle
1. Star forms
2. Main sequence
3. Red super giant
4. Shells form around core with different elements
5. Supernova
Canopus is currently a Super Giant
How we know about it
It was first observed by early astronomers. Canopus can be seen in the night sky without a telescope because of its brightness, but only in certain parts of the world. It is the 2nd brightest star in the sky, that can be seen from Earth. Satellite telescopes have been used to observe it more closely. It has been observed by many different astronomers in the past. One particular group of people from early on were Islamic astronomers from the 7th century.