Suhail star rises over Arabian Peninsula, marking the end of summer’s heat

Dubai: As dawn broke over the Arabian Peninsula on Sunday, a bright, ancient marker appeared in the southern sky: Suhail, or Canopus, the second-brightest star in the heavens.

Its arrival, long awaited across Arabia, signaled what generations of desert dwellers have recognized as the beginning of the end of the summer season.

The Jeddah Astronomical Society announced that the star would rise on Aug. 24, a date etched into the region’s collective memory as the cosmic turning point toward cooler nights and shorter days. 

For centuries, Arabs have looked to Suhail as a harbinger of change, a star whose appearance coincides with the gradual decline of the sun’s intensity and the relief of milder weather.

“Arabs in the past considered the appearance of Suhail as a good omen,” said Majed Abu Zahra, president of the society. 

“It coincides with the declining angle of the sun’s rays, the shortening of the day, and a drop in nighttime temperatures.”

Known to astronomers as Canopus, Suhail is a giant, yellowish-white star in the constellation Carina, about 313 light-years from Earth. 

Though tradition has long linked its rising with shifts in climate, Abu Zahra emphasized that Suhail, like all stars apart from the sun, exerts no direct influence on weather. 

“Its role is symbolic,” he said, describing it as a “cosmic clock” whose appearance simply coincides with natural seasonal changes caused by Earth’s orbit around the sun.

Suhail is visible only south of latitude 33 degrees north, across central and southern Arabia and parts of North Africa. In northern Arabia and the Levant, the star never clears the horizon, remaining invisible year-round.

This year, the star made its pre-dawn debut on Aug. 24 and will climb higher each night, reaching its zenith at midnight by the end of September. Its slow ascent will be accompanied by a steady decline in temperatures, culminating in the autumnal equinox on Sept. 23.

Beyond its scientific intrigue, Suhail occupies a cherished place in Arab heritage. For centuries, it has served as a compass for travelers, a seasonal calendar for farmers, and a cultural icon in poetry, folklore, and Bedouin proverbs. Its rising has guided planting cycles, bird migrations, grazing patterns, and seafaring journeys across the region.

“The star Suhail is not just an astronomical event,” Abu Zahra noted. “It is part of our history, our literature, and our way of life.”