Suhail is an orange supergiant in Vela, the sails of Argo, a huge cool star carrying an old Arabic name once given to several bright southern stars.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 545 light-years (167 pc) |
| its light left it | 545 years ago |
| luminosity | 5,490 × the Sun |
| radius | 128 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,400 K |
| constellation | Vela (Sails) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Suhail
The card describes a supergiant: a star far wider and more luminous than the Sun, its surface cool enough to glow orange. It is an evolved star, and its brightness varies slightly and irregularly, as is common for such large, loose stars.
Suhail is an Arabic name used for more than one bright star low in the southern sky, Canopus among them; this star carries it as its formal name. It is one of the stars that outline the Sails.
What you see in the piece
In the piece it is drawn at its true distance; its orange is the colour of its cool surface, and from space it drifts away from the rest of Vela, which lie at very different depths.
Questions
What kind of star is Suhail?
An orange giant (class K), often classed as a supergiant, about 128 times the Sun’s radius and 5,490 times its luminosity, at 545 light-years (167 pc).