Located around 310 light-years from the Sun, Canopus is a bright giant of spectral type A9, so it is essentially white when seen with the naked eye.

[23] Alternative spellings include Suhail, Souhail, Suhilon, Suheyl, Sohayl, Sohail, Suhayil, Shoel, Sohil, Soheil, Sahil, Suhayeel, Sohayil, Sihel, and Sihil.

[15] An alternative name was Wazn "weight" or Haḍar "ground" , implying the anchor stone used by ship, rather than being related to its low position near the horizon.

[23] The Arabic Muslim astronomer Ibn Rushd went to Marrakesh (in Morocco) to observe the star in 1153, as it was invisible in his native Córdoba, Al-Andalus.

English explorer Robert Hues brought Canopus to the attention of European observers in his 1592 work Tractatus de Globis, along with Achernar and Alpha Centauri, noting:"Now, therefore, there are but three Stars of the first magnitude that I could perceive in all those parts which are never seene here in England.

Mostly visible in mid to late summer in the Southern Hemisphere, Canopus culminates at midnight on December 27,[26] and at 9 PM on February 11.

Hamilton, California, from which it is readily visible because of the effects of elevation and atmospheric refraction, which add another degree to its apparent altitude.

[29] It is more easily visible in places such as the Gulf Coast and Florida, and the island of Crete (Greece) where the best season for viewing it around 9 p.m. is during late January and early February.

[36] The Bedouin people of the Negev and Sinai knew Canopus as Suhayl, and used it and Polaris as the two principal stars for navigation at night.

[41] American astronomer Jesse Greenstein was interested in stellar spectra and used the newly built Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory to analyze the star's spectrum in detail.

[44] New Zealand-based astronomers John Hearnshaw and Krishna Desikachary examined the spectrum in greater detail, publishing their results in 1982.

[50] More detailed observations have shown that the emission line profiles are variable and may be due to plage areas on the surface of the star.

[57] The absorption lines in the spectrum of Canopus shift slightly with a period of 6.9 d. This was first detected in 1906 and the Doppler variations were interpreted as orbital motion.

From there is a good view to the south, so that about 6000 years ago due to the precession of the Earth's axis the first rising of the star Canopus in Mesopotamia could be observed only from there at the southern meridian at midnight.

"[15] Under the Ptolemies, the star was known as Ptolemaion (Greek: Πτολεμαῖον) and its acronychal rising marked the date of the Ptolemaia festival, which was held every four years, from 262 to 145 BC.

Canopus is described by Pliny the Elder and Gaius Julius Solinus as the largest, brightest and only source of starlight for navigators near Tamraparni island (ancient Sri Lanka) during many nights.

For instance, in the Alborz Mountains, at approximately 36°N latitude, Canopus rises just one degree above the southern horizon, making it a rare sight.

This rarity has led to the Persian expression "ستاره سهیل شدن" ("becoming the star Soheil"), used to describe someone who is seldom seen or elusive.

[76] [77] Ferdowsi references Canopus in his poetry, associating it with Yemen: ز سر تا بپایش گلست و سمن به سرو سهی بر سهیل یمن Ze sar tā be-pāyash golast o saman Be sarv-e sehī bar Sohayl-e Yaman From head to toe, she is adorned with flowers and jasmine, Like the tall cypress under the Canopus of Yemen.

[81] Drawing on sources from the Warring States period, he noted it to be the southern counterpart of Sirius,[82] and wrote of a sanctuary dedicated to it established by Emperor Qin Shi Huang between 221 and 210 BC.

[81] From the imperial capital Chang'an, the star made a low transit across the southern sky, indicating true south to observers, and was often obscured by clouds.

Another related myth about the star says that Atutahi was the first-born child of Rangi, who refused to enter the Milky Way and so turned it sideways and rose before it.

[91] Kapae-poto, "Short horizon", referred to it rarely setting as seen in New Zealand;[92] Kauanga ("Solitary") was the name for Canopus only when it was the last star visible before sunrise.

The Sotho chiefs also awarded a cow, and ordered their medicine men to roll bone dice and read the fortune for the coming year.

They also believed that stars had the power to cause death and misfortune, and they would pray to Sirius and Canopus in particular to impart good fortune or skill.

[101] The Kalapalo people of Mato Grosso state in Brazil saw Canopus and Procyon as Kofongo "Duck", with Castor and Pollux representing his hands.

The asterism's appearance signified the coming of the rainy season and increase in manioc, a food staple fed to guests at feasts.

[103] The Boorong people of northwestern Victoria recalled that War (Canopus) was the brother of Warepil (Sirius), and that he brought fire from the heavens and introduced it to humanity.

[104] The Pirt-Kopan-noot people of western Victoria tell of Waa "Crow" falling in love with a queen, Gneeanggar "Wedge-tailed Eagle" (Sirius) and her six attendants (the Pleiades).

[104] Objects in the sky are also associated with states of being for some tribes; the Wailwun of northern New South Wales know Canopus as Wumba "deaf", alongside Mars as Gumba "fat" and Venus as Ngindigindoer "you are laughing".