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Canopus

Canopus

1 9.9
A very bright star in the southern sky that is the second brightest at night
  • proper noun
  • /kəˈnoʊpəs/
: Canopus
  • The bright star Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky, is reflected in a tidal pool.
  • Canopus and Sirius
  • Canopus star
  • the brightest star, Canopus

Examples

  • His interest is not scientific; he doesn't pinpoint the constellations or make casual references to Canopus.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Victim 119, Ni Dilaw, Canopus Universe.

  • Sirius and Canopus round off to -1.

    Academic text (2004)
  • And if you live south of about 35 degrees north latitude, you can also spot Canopus, raising the number to six.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Among the stars, only Sirius and Canopus appear noticeably brighter.

    Academic text (2007)
  • That's Canopus.

  • Qianshan National Park in northeastern China (photo by Yoshi Canopus used under Creative Commons license).

    Blog text (26)
  • Luckily, the Tricaster provides several video and audio output options that allow us to connect our feed to the MacBook Pro using a Canopus box or an AJA IO HD capture device.

    Blog text (20)
  • The star Canopus, located in the constellation Carina, is the second brightest star visible from Earth.

  • Many stargazers admire Canopus because of its incredible brightness in the southern night sky.

Surface Forms

Canopus main

Etymology

Canopus comes from a Greek myth and an Egyptian place: the name Kanopos belonged to a ship 'pilot' for King Menelaus and there was also a town called Canopus in Egypt. Sailors used the very bright star called Canopus to find their way at sea, so the name fits a guiding, bright marker in the sky.