CANOPUS

also called Alpha Carinae second brightest star (after Sirius) in the night sky, with a visual magnitude of -0.73. Lying in the southern constellation Carina, about 100 light-years from the Earth, Canopus is sometimes used as a guide in the attitude control of spacecraft because of its angular distance from the Sun and the contrast of its brightness among nearby celestial objects. The Syrian Stoic philosopher Poseidonius (c. 13550 BC) used sightings of Canopus near the horizon in his estimation of the size of the Earth. also spelled Canobus, ancient Egyptian city on the western coast of the Nile River delta, in al-Iskandariyah muhafazah (governorate). Known to the Greeks as Kanopos, its Egyptian name was PeGewat. The Canopic branch of the Nile is entirely silted up, but on the shore about 2 miles (3.22 km) from Abu Qir there are extensive remains, including the temple of the Greco-Egyptian god Sarapis. Canopus was a centre of the ointment industry and a pleasure resort for the people of Alexandria. Osiris was worshiped at Canopus under the curious form of a human-headed vessel. The name Canopic jars was therefore mistakenly applied by archaeologists to the jars with human and animal heads in which the viscera were placed by the ancient Egyptians after mummification.