Jordanian astronomer Imad Mujahid, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (UK) and member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, announced the appearance of the famous star Canopus (known in Arabic as Suhail) in the skies of the Arabian Peninsula. Its rising traditionally heralds the end of the extreme summer heat and the beginning of thunderstorms in the region.
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Since pre-Islamic times, Arabs have awaited the appearance of Canopus in the southeastern horizon just before sunrise, seeing in it a sign of the September rains and the breaking of summer’s intensity. Mujahid told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) on Sunday that the star’s rising is strongly linked to the timing of rainfall following the hot summer, typically appearing around August 24 each year.
He explained that in Jordan’s Badia, according to heritage texts, Canopus becomes visible in mid-September, marking the onset of autumn, which locals call the Safri season.
One reason for Canopus’s fame, he noted, is its brilliant white light, shining alone in the southern horizon as one of the brightest stars in that part of the sky during this season. Arabs in antiquity gave it various names such as Al-Wazn, Wasim, Lamiʿ, Nabeel, Majeed, and Al-Sahl Al-Jariya. It was also called Al-Basheer Al-Yemani (“the Yemeni Herald”) or Suhail Al-Yemani because it rises from the south, opposite the northern pole star.
Mujahid added that Arabs, past and present, would rejoice at its rising. Like most stars, Canopus disappears from view for part of the year, reappearing around August 24 at dawn, gradually rising higher each night until it is overhead at midnight in late December, then visible after sunset in the southwest in late March, before vanishing again until the next August.
Regarding the easing of summer heat in Arabia, Mujahid explained that the rising of Canopus signals the gradual end of the hottest days, with nights becoming milder. Its season also coincides with instability across wide parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf, often bringing sudden, heavy rains that trigger flash floods in deserts, valleys, and lowlands.
Because of this, Bedouin tribes traditionally avoided flood-prone areas during Canopus’s season, giving rise to the old proverb: “If Canopus rises, beware the flood.”
Fifty-two days after Canopus appears comes the Wasem season. If rainfall occurs then, it is considered especially beneficial for both land and sea: many plants sprout only with Wasem rains, and truffles (kamaʾ or desert mushrooms) also grow at this time.
Mujahid noted that Canopus’s season is divided into four phases: Al-Tarfah (13 days), when nights become cooler though days remain hot; Al-Jabha (13 days), marking the start of autumn with pleasant days and chilly nights; Al-Zubrah (13 days), associated with increasing nighttime cold, when it is advised not to sleep under the open sky; and finally Al-Sarfa (13 days), named for the “departure” of summer’s heat, as temperatures decline further with its appearance.
—(Petra)
