CANOPUS bears the same name of the Pilot of Menelaus, King of Sparta. His name was given to the town in Egypt where legend holds that he died. After CANOPUS died, he is said to have been transformed into the second brightest star in the sky.
In Egypt, CANOPUS was a town near Alexanderia where the town of Abkir now lies. In oman and Egyptian times CANOPUS was a famous pleasure and health resort. When Alexanderia was the capitol of Egypt, CANOPUS was the homeport for part of the Egyptian fleet.
The star CANOPUS is a yellowish-white strar of the Southern hemisphere and the second brightest star in the sky. Only Sirius is brighter. CANOPUS can be found in the constellation Carnia, a part of the Argo Navis or "Ship" constellation. Estimated to be 100 light years (or 600 trillion miles) from Earth, CANOPUS can't be seen from north of about the lattitude of Florida.
Mariner IV, first space probe to transmit pictures from the surface of Mars, 'locked on' to CANOPUS for its navigational reference during its successful seven-month flight. The Voyager series, which will pass Jupiter and continue into space carrying human artifacts including music, atr and literature to show any finder the human race, also uses CANOPUS as its guide.
