Star of longetivity: Canopus

Canopus (Carina α)

Canopus is the second brightest star throughout the day, only slightly dimmer than Sirius.

Canopus in different cultures

In Egyptian legend, when ancient Egypt was destroyed by huge flooding, the gods Isis and Osiris were on a huge argo (the so called Noah's Ark mentioned in the bible of Christianity).
According to the myth of Babylonians, the argo was created by the God Ea after realizing the desperate and fear from the humans.
The description and story of this argo vary for differnt civilizations and culture towards different gods/godesses.
For the ancient greeks, the vessel was the place where lots of heros grouped together sailing across the oceans. Canopus was shinning at the Argo's tail.

Canopus has the meaning of the hermit for giving guidance, and is the brightest star in the constellation of Argos. In the view from earth, it is the 2nd brightest star in night sky just slightly dimmer than Sirius. This star is visible in Southern hemisphere of Earth, but can only be seen by southern part of Northern hemisphere. For example, it is not visible to northern part of China.

In ancient China, it paid an important part in legends as it represents the old hermit of the south pole. The star is regarded to be symbol of longetivity, peace and fortune. Appearance of Canopus is regarded to be a peace and forture sign (which is a contrary to Sirius). However, the star is situated too south and it can only be seen from southern part of China (In ancient China, these regions are mostly uncultivated regions). It is impossible to observe it from Northern China (the centre of China in ancient times). This characteristic is one of the reasons why it is called "Antarctic Canopus (i.e. "Nanjixianweng") in ancient China.

The image of Antarctic Canopus (Nanjixianweng) is an old hermit with high forehead, long elbow, holding hands with a large peach. It symbolise peace, harmony and statue of Nanjixianweng is one of the precious present for birthday for the riches.

Canopus is in the brightest star in Carina which can be seen in southern hemisphere. It is believed the English name (Canopus) is named after the Greek army expedition to Troy. Comparing to Sirius, Canopus is much far away from Earth and it is difficult to calculate its distance form the Earth. Most astronomers (before modern space age) suggested it is situated 1,200 light years away. However, with the modern telescopes, it is noted that Canopus is actually 700 lightyears from us, and it is the largest star within a radius of 700 lightyears from us.

Major stars in the night sky: Sirius

Brightest at night of Winter: Sirius (Canis Major α)

It is the brightest star at night during winter in north hemisphere (Apart from members of solar system). The magnitude of brightness is -1.45 which is 23 times of our sun. The main star is a blue colored star with the size of 1.7 times of our sun.Surface temperature of Sirius is very high - 10,000  ℃ which is twice as the sun.

Sirius has existed in the ancient history of Egypt, and its appearance is regarded to be the sign of Nile Delta flooding. So the star is regarded to be a symbol of fertility for Egyptians. For other cultures, it is a bit different. e.g. ancient Chinese regard Sirius as a star of disasters and bad interference. It symbolize alone and separate.

The name of Sirius is originated from Greece, meaning “burnt" or "hot weather”. It is because when Sirius is visible in early summer each year (also in northern hemisphere), usually it will be overlapped with the sun, and it is why it is regarded to be a source of heat.

In 1844, German astronomer Bessel discovered that Sirius is indeed a binary star (two stars revolving each other, instead of one single large star), according to the wavy revolving pattern of Sirius. The companion star is first observed by American astronomer A. Clark in 1862 with the use of a caliber 4.7M refracting telescope which is the largest at that time. The revolving cycle of The two stars is 49.9 years.

Mass of this companion star is similar to our sun but the diameter is much shorter (only 1/50), and it is the first white dwarf actually observed by astronomers.

Sirius is also called the Canis Major α and it has an important role in the ancient legends and myths of constellations. It is one of the stars of the Triangle in Winter (Le Triangle d'hiver, together with Betelgeuse and Procyon) and is probably the first star that most people come across in learning to view stars.

Because Sirius is so bright, basically no specific instruments will be required in observation. Of course, it is much better for viewing the stars in the rural areas away from cities. One more tip is, you should arrive at the site of observation at least 45 minutes in advance, so there is time for your eyes to adapt to the darker environment. You can bring a torch with you but please kindly be reminded not to use it too frequently, and there is no need for any sunglass or telescope.

Sirius - related legends

It is a legend spreaded among the Dogon people in Mali, Western Africa.
The tribes were traditional tribes of black people in Western Africa, believing to have been , their culture was not advanced in most circumstances, except in the category of knowledge in astronomy.It is somewhat impossible for people to have get such high level of astronomy, without even the most basic telescope for observing the universe. For example, they already know Sirius is indeed a binary stars (consists of two stars evolving each other), and Sirius β had a orbital period of around 50 years. This second star of Sirius was not discovered by scientists until late 19th centuries. How can a ancient, less developed tribes get such knowledge hundreds of years in advance?
In their local legend, the knowloedge from the star Sirius β was from a God named "Nuomo", who had come across with their ancestors long long time ago.Dogon people had an ancient picture, showing their God was travelling on a huge space (believed to be space craft) dragging a long long tail of flames. He landed from the sky, and taught various knowledge to the Dogon people.