Suhail Hadar — Star in Puppis

Naos (also known as Suhail Hadar) is one of the hottest and most luminous stars visible to the naked eye. At spectral type O5Iaf and magnitude 2.25, it is a blue supergiant with a surface temperature of about 42,000 K and a luminosity roughly 800,000 times that of the Sun. Located approximately 1,080 light-years away, Naos has a powerful stellar wind that ejects mass at a rate millions of times greater than the Sun's solar wind.

Located in the southeastern part of Puppis, Naos is a striking blue-white star best viewed from the southern hemisphere or from low northern latitudes. It sits in a rich part of the Milky Way with many background stars. Binoculars reveal its vivid blue-white color against the star-rich backdrop. Best observed from January through April. From northern mid-latitudes it is low on the southern horizon.

The name Naos comes from the Greek 'naos,' meaning 'ship,' referring to the constellation Puppis (the stern of the mythological ship Argo). The alternate name Suhail Hadar is Arabic in origin. Zeta Pup was one of the first stars whose extreme temperature was determined spectroscopically, revealing it as an O-type supergiant — among the most massive and energetic stars known.