Astronomers in the UAE have stated that the centuries old Suhail star can be seen from dawn on August 24.
According to Arabian folklore, the stars appearance signifies that summer is coming to an end as the weather will start to cool down.
People in the UAE and Central Arabia will be able to see the Arabian star over the southeastern horizon according to Ibrahim Al Jarwan, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences.
“The emergence of the Suhail star coincides with mild weather and low temperatures with high humidity southeasterly winds blowing, forming low clouds along the eastern slopes of Hajar Mountains in Oman and the UAE, which may be accompanied by drizzle.”
Being that temperatures have reached up to 50 degrees in certain parts of the region, hearing that cooler weather is on the way is music to our ears.
Suhail represents more than end of summer
Emiratis have long believed that Suhail is a harbinger of abundance and everything good. In fact, people in the UAE have coordinated their pearl hunting, fishing and farming activities around the appearance of the star.
Hajj pilgrams have also used the star to help them navigate at night. In the West, it is also known as Canopus and is still used in space navigation today.
“People learn through the stars, the start of the seasons of the year, the times of rain, and the period of hot and cold weather.” said Al Jarwan.
Suhail is an orange supergiant star with a mass that is seven times greater than the Sun. It’s 7,900 times more luminous than the sun and the second brightest star in the sky behind Sirius. The star is located approximately 545 light years away from Earth.