Suhail: how to find it and when to see it
Suhail ranks 66th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 2.23, in the constellation Vela.
You can see it from anywhere south of 46° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in March.
Suhail at a glance
Where Suhail is in the sky
Suhail sits 43.4° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 9 h 8 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Suhail
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Suhail rises in the south-east, climbs to 6° above the horizon in the south and sets in the south-west.
It never climbs more than 6° above the horizon, so you need a clear, low view to the south to spot it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Suhail rises in the south-east, climbs to 80° above the horizon in the south and sets in the south-west.
It's in the evening sky from December to June, and it's highest in the evening around March 24, in autumn.
How high Suhail climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 50° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 40° N | Rises and sets | 6° in the south | None |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 16° in the south | Mar to Apr |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 26° in the south | Feb to May |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 46° in the south | Jan to May |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 66° in the south | Jan to Jun |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 80° in the south | Dec to Jun |
| 45° S | Rises and sets | 89° in the north | Nov to Jul |
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Suhail was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Suhail
Suhail is in Vela. It sits 43.4° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 9 h 8 min.
Suhail is highest in the evening sky around March 24. That's spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 46° N. From 40° N, it climbs to 6° above the horizon in the south.
Suhail has a magnitude of 2.23, which ranks it 66th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 29 times brighter.