Canopus
Yellow-white bright giant · Alpha Carinae
Second-brightest star in the night sky
A luminous yellow-white supergiant that ranks as the second-brightest nighttime star, Canopus long served as a navigation beacon for spacecraft because of its brilliance and southerly position.
Illustration generated from temperature, not a photograph
13,305 ×
as bright as the Sun
7,557 K
surface · white star
307 ly
from Earth
-0.7
apparent magnitude
Visible to the naked eyeno equipment needed · apparent magnitude -0.7
It pours out about 13,305 times the Sun’s light. Its light has been travelling 307 years to reach us, so you see Canopus as it was 307 years ago.
Source · Wikidata
It lives in
Milky Way
Barred spiral galaxy.
Other notable stars in the Milky Way
Eta CarinaeLuminous blue variableAlnilamBlue supergiantVY Canis MajorisRed hypergiantAlnitakHot blue supergiantDenebBlue-white supergiantMintakaHot blue giant multiple star
Stars of similar brightness
MiraRed giant (pulsating variable)8,892 ×SpicaBlue giant (close binary)20,512 ×MimosaBlue giant25,704 ×BellatrixHot blue giant star6,397 ×AcruxBlue subgiant (multiple system)31,117 ×HadarBlue giant31,623 ×
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→