Canopus - α Carinae (alpha Carinae)
Canopus, also designated as α Carinae (alpha Carinae), is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Carina.
Canopus visual magnitude is -0.72, making it the third brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Canopus is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.
The table below summarizes the key facts about Canopus:
Canopus - α Carinae (alpha Carinae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
Altitude: -52.1°
Azimuth: 117.7°
Direction: East-South-East
Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Canopus
Canopus is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Canopus are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of Canopus in the sky:

Visibility of Canopus from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Canopus - α Carinae (alpha Carinae) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom
Digitized Sky Survey image of Canopus
The image below is a photograph of Canopus from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of Canopus is 0.022 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.021 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Distance of Canopus from the Sun and relative movement
Canopus is distant 312.56 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 21 kilometers per second.
Spectral properties of Canopus
Canopus belongs to spectral class F0 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a hypergiant star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where Canopus is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
