Editing Canopus (section)

==Cultural significance ==
Canopus was known to the ancient Mesopotamians and represented the city of [[Eridu]] in the ''Three Stars Each'' [[Babylonian star catalogues]] and later [[MUL.APIN]] around 1100 BC.<ref>{{cite journal  | last = Rogers  | first = John H.  | date = 1998  | title = Origins of the Ancient Constellations: I. The Mesopotamian Traditions  | journal = Journal of the British Astronomical Association  | volume = 108  | issue = 1  | pages = 9–28 | bibcode = 1998JBAA..108....9R}}</ref> Canopus was called MUL.NUN<sup>KI</sup> by the Babylonians, which translates as "star of the city of Eridu". Eridu was the southernmost and one of the oldest Sumerian cities. From there is a good view to the south, so that about 6000 years ago due to the precession of the Earth's axis the first rising of the star Canopus in Mesopotamia could be observed only from there at the southern meridian at midnight.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bautsch |first1=Markus  |author2-link=Friedhelm Pedde |last2=Pedde |first2=Friedhelm |title=Canopus, der "Stern der Stadt Eridu" |url=https://wfs.berlin/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/BROplanet-juni2023ff_www.pdf |journal=Dem Himmel Nahe |issue=17 |pages=8–9 |issn=2940-9330|language=de}}</ref>

Today, the star [[Sigma Sagittarii]] is known by the common name Nunki.<ref name=allen>{{citation | page=359 | first1=Richard Hinckley | last1=Allen | title=Star Names, their lore and meaning}}</ref>

Canopus was not visible to the mainland [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and [[Roman Empire|Romans]]; it was, however, visible to the [[ancient Egypt]]ians.<ref name="Schaaf107">Schaaf, p. 107.</ref> Hence [[Aratus]] did not write of the star as it remained below the horizon, while [[Eratosthenes]] and [[Ptolemy]]—observing from [[Alexandria]]—did, calling it ''Kanōbos''.<ref name=ridpathCr>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/carina.html | title=Carina |last1=Ridpath|first1=Ian|publisher=self-published |work=Star Tales | access-date= 17 June 2023}}</ref> An [[Egypt]]ian priestly poet in the time of [[Thutmose III]] mentions the star as ''Karbana,'' "the star which pours his light in a glance of fire, when he disperses the morning dew."<ref name="hinkley63" /> Under the [[Ptolemies]], the star was known as ''Ptolemaion'' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]]: Πτολεμαῖον) and its [[acronychal rising]] marked the date of the Ptolemaia festival, which was held every four years, from 262 to 145 BC.<ref>[[Martianus Capella]] 7.838, {{cite journal | last1 = Hazzard | last2 = Fitzgerald | year = 1991 | title = The Regulation of the Ptolemeia | journal = Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada | volume = 85 | pages = 6–23 |bibcode = 1991JRASC..85....6H }}; Hazzard. 2000. ''Imagination of a Monarchy: Studies in Ptolemaic Propaganda'', 34–36.</ref>

The Greek astronomer [[Posidonius]] used observations of Canopus to calculate quite accurately the [[Posidonius#Earth's_circumference | Earth's circumference]], around 90 – 120 BC.

[[File:Statue of Averroes in Córdoba, Spain.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Averroes]], who used his 1153 observation of Canopus in [[Marrakesh]] while the star was invisible in his native Spain as an argument that the [[Spherical Earth|Earth is round]]<ref name=ibn_rushd/>]]

===India===
In Indian [[Vedas|Vedic literature]], Canopus is associated with the sage [[Agastya]], one of the ancient [[siddhar]]s and [[rishi]]s (the others are associated with the stars of the [[Big Dipper]]).<ref name="Frawley 1993">{{cite book|last=Frawley|first=David|title=Gods, Sages and Kings: Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=New Delhi, India|date=1993}}</ref> To Agastya, the star is said to be the 'cleanser of waters', and its rising coincides with the calming of the waters of the [[Indian Ocean]]. Canopus is described by [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Gaius Julius Solinus]] as the largest, brightest and only source of [[starlight]] for navigators near [[Tamraparni]] island (ancient Sri Lanka) during many nights.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pridham |first1=Charles |title=An Historical, Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon and Its Dependencies |date=1849 |publisher=T. and W. Boone |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4aqHOMSJdYC&pg=PR19-IA5|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Frawley 1993"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Elder |first1=Pliny the |title=Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder (Illustrated) |date=2015 |publisher=Delphi Classics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OrJ0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA343|language=en}}</ref>
===Iran (Persia)===
Canopus, known as Suhail (سُهَيْل) in [[Arabic]] and Soheil (سهیل) in [[Persian language|Farsi]], holds significant cultural importance in Iran. Its visibility in [[Iran]] varies due to the country's range of latitudes. For instance, in the [[Alborz Mountains]], at approximately 36°N latitude, Canopus rises just one degree above the southern horizon, making it a rare sight. This rarity has led to the Persian expression "ستاره سهیل شدن" ("becoming the star Soheil"), used to describe someone who is seldom seen or elusive. The term "Soheil" symbolizes rarity in [[Persian literature]], reflecting the star's infrequent visibility in the region.<ref>{{cite web 
| url = https://twanight.org/gallery/canopus-from-the-northern-limit-of-visibility/
| title = Canopus from the Northern Limit of Visibility
| website = The World at Night (TWAN)
| date = 
| access-date = 6 February 2025
| author = 
| publisher = TWAN
| language = English
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = https://pasargadian1.blogfa.com/post/48
| title = ستارهٔ سهیل در فرهنگ و ادب فارسی
| website = Pasargadian Blog
| date = 
| access-date = 6 February 2025
| author = 
| publisher = Blogfa
| language = Persian
}}</ref>
[[Ferdowsi]] references Canopus in his poetry, associating it with [[Yemen]]:
<poem>
ز سر تا بپایش گلست و سمن  
به سرو سهی بر سهیل یمن  
</poem>
Ze sar tā be-pāyash golast o saman  
Be sarv-e sehī bar Sohayl-e Yaman  
<poem>
From head to toe, she is adorned with flowers and jasmine, 
Like the tall cypress under the Canopus of Yemen.
</poem>
Ferdowsi uses Canopus as a metaphor for beauty and rarity, linking it to Yemen, where the star is visible.<ref>{{cite book | title=Shahnameh | author=Ferdowsi | language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://profarsi.com/ferdowsi-famous-poems-in-english-and-farsi/ | title = Ferdowsi famous poems in English and Farsi | website = ProFarsi | access-date = 6 February 2025 | language = fa }}</ref>
The star's name also appears in Persian literary works, such as Anvār-i Suhaylī (انوار سهیلی) ("Lights of Canopus"), a 15th-century Persian adaptation of [[Kalīla wa-Dimna]] (کلیله و دمنه) (itself an earlier Persian translation of the ancient Indian [[Panchatantra]]).These works highlight the cultural significance of Canopus in Persian literature.<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2016/11/the-anvar-i-suhayli-or-lights-of-canopus.html
| title = The Anvār-i Suhaylī or "Lights of Canopus"
| website = British Library Asian and African Studies Blog
| date = 4 November 2016
| access-date = 6 February 2025
| author = Ursula Sims-Williams
| publisher = British Library
| language = English
}}</ref>
===China===
Canopus was described as Shou Xing, the Star of Longevity, in the ''Shiji'' ([[Records of the Grand Historian]]) completed in 94 BC by Chinese historian [[Sima Qian]].<ref name=fong83>{{cite journal | title=The Iconography of the Popular Gods of Happiness, Emolument, and Longevity (Fu Lu Shou) | first=Mary H. |last=Fong | journal=Artibus Asiae | volume= 44 | issue= 2/3 | year=1983| pages= 159–199 | doi= 10.2307/3249596| jstor=3249596 }}</ref> Drawing on sources from the [[Warring States period]], he noted it to be the southern counterpart of [[Sirius]],<ref name="IDP"/> and wrote of a sanctuary dedicated to it established by Emperor [[Qin Shi Huang]] between 221 and 210 BC. During the [[Han dynasty]], the star was auspicious, its appearance in the southern sky heralding peace and absence war.<ref name=fong83/> From the imperial capital [[Chang'an]], the star made a low transit across the southern sky, indicating true south to observers, and was often obscured by clouds.<ref name=baumann19>{{cite journal | title=The White Old Man: Géluk-Mongolian Canopus Allegory and the Existence of God | first=Brian | last=Baumann | journal= Central Asiatic Journal | volume= 62 | issue= 1 | year=2019| pages= 35–68 | doi=10.13173/centasiaj.62.1.0035| s2cid=213083544 }}</ref> During this time it was also equated with [[Old Man of the South Pole]] (in {{zh|c=南极老人|p=Nanji Lǎorén}})<ref name=fong83/> Under this name, Canopus appears (albeit misplaced northwards) on the medieval Chinese manuscript the [[Dunhuang Star Chart]], although it cannot be seen from the Chinese capital of [[Chang'an]].<ref name="IDP">{{cite journal|bibcode=2009JAHH...12...39B|arxiv=0906.3034|title=The Dunhuang Sky: A Comprehensive Study of the Oldest Known Star Atlas|volume=12|issue=1|pages=39–59|last1=Bonnet-Bidaud|first1=Jean-Marc |last2=Praderie|first2=Françoise |last3=Whitfield|first3=Susan |author-link=Susan Whitfield |journal=The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online|year=2009}}</ref> The Chinese astronomer [[Yi Xing]] had journeyed south to chart Canopus and other far southern stars in 724 AD.<ref>{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|date=1959|pages=274|isbn=0521058015}}</ref> Its personification as the Old Man Star was popularised in the [[Tang dynasty]], where it appeared often in poetry and memorials. Later still, during the [[Ming dynasty]], the star was established as one of the [[Sanxing (deities)|Three Stars]] (Fu Lo Shou), appearing frequently in art and literature of the time.<ref name=fong83/> This symbolism spread into neighbouring cultures in Asia.<ref name=baumann19/>
In Japan, Canopus is known as ''Mera-boshi'' and ''Roujin-sei'' (the old man star),<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://www2.tba.t-com.ne.jp/october-country/ips96/japanese_star.html |title=Stellar Iconology and Astronomical Folklore in Japan |author=Takao Ibaraki |book-title=International Planetarium Society (IPS) Conferences 1996 |publisher=International Planetarium Society |location=Osaka |date=14 July 1996 |access-date=25 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326195757/http://www2.tba.t-com.ne.jp/october-country/ips96/japanese_star.html |archive-date=2012-03-26 }}</ref> and in Mongolia, it was personified as the White Old Man.<ref name=fong83/> Although the link was known in Tibet, with names such as ''Genpo karpo'' (''Rgan po dkar po'') or ''Genkar'' (''Rgan dkar'') "White Old Man", the symbolism was not popular. Instead, Canopus was more commonly named ''Karma Rishi སྐར་མ་རི་ཥི།'', derived from Indian mythology. Tibetans celebrated the star's heliacal rising with ritual bathing and associated it with morning dew.<ref name=baumann19/>

===Polynesia===
Bright stars were important to the ancient [[Polynesian culture|Polynesians]] for navigation between the many islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean. Low on the horizon, they acted as stellar compasses to assist mariners in charting courses to particular destinations. Canopus served as the southern wingtip of a "Great Bird" constellation called ''Manu'', with Sirius as the body and [[Procyon]] the northern wingtip, which divided the Polynesian night sky into two hemispheres.<ref name="Holberg">{{cite book | last=Holberg | first=J.B. | title=Sirius: Brightest Diamond in the Night Sky | date=2007 | publisher=Praxis Publishing | location=Chichester, UK | isbn=978-0-387-48941-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/25 25–26] | url=https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/25 }}</ref> The [[Hawaiian people]] called Canopus ''Ke Alii-o-kona-i-ka-lewa'', "The chief of the southern expanse"; it was one of the stars used by [[Hawaiʻiloa]] and Ki when they traveled to the [[Southern Ocean]].{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=198}}

The [[Māori people]] of [[New Zealand|New Zealand/Aotearoa]] had several names for Canopus. ''[[Ariki]]'' ("High-born"), was known as a solitary star that appeared in the east, prompting people to weep and chant.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=201}} They also named it ''[[Atutahi]]'', ''Aotahi'' or ''Atuatahi'', "Stand Alone".<ref>p. 419, [https://books.google.com/books?id=p7dR2w1Wv2sC ''Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies'']{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Janet Parker, Alice Mills, Julie Stanton, Durban, Struik Publishers, 2007.</ref> Its solitary nature indicates it is a ''[[Tapu (Polynesian culture)|tapu]]'' star, as ''tapu'' people are often solitary. Its appearance at the beginning of the ''Maruaroa'' season foretells the coming winter; light rays to the south indicate a cold wet winter, and to the north foretell a mild winter. Food was offered to the star on its appearance.<ref name="Best22">{{cite book|last=Best|first=Elsdon|title=Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori: Genuine and Empirical|publisher=Dominion Museum|location=Wellington, New Zealand|date=1922|pages=34–35|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BesAstro-t1-body-d1-d6-d4.html}}</ref> This name has several mythologies attached to it. One story tells of how Atutahi was left outside the basket representing the [[Milky Way]] when [[Tāne]] wove it. Another related myth about the star says that Atutahi was the first-born child of [[Rangi and Papa|Rangi]], who refused to enter the Milky Way and so turned it sideways and rose before it. The same name is used for other stars and constellations throughout Polynesia.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|pp=200–202}} ''Kapae-poto'', "Short horizon", referred to it rarely setting as seen in New Zealand;{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=217}} ''Kauanga'' ("Solitary") was the name for Canopus only when it was the last star visible before sunrise.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=218}}

The people of the [[Society Islands]] had two names for Canopus, as did the [[Tuamotu]] people. The Society Islanders called Canopus ''Taurua-e-tupu-tai-nanu'', "Festivity-whence-comes-the-flux-of-the-sea", and ''Taurua-nui-o-te-hiti-apatoa'' "Great-festivity-of-the-border-of-the-south",{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=259}} and the Tuamotu people called the star ''Te Tau-rari'' and ''Marere-te-tavahi'', the latter said to be the true name for the former, "He-who-stands-alone".{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=229}}

===Africa===
In the [[Guanches|Guanche]] mythology of the island of [[Tenerife]] (Spain), the star Canopus was linked with the goddess [[Chaxiraxi]].<ref name="Rumeu">{{cite book|author=Antonio Rumeu de Armas|title=La conquista de Tenerife, 1494–1496|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck4BAAAAMAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Aula de Cultura de Tenerife|isbn=9788450071078}}</ref>

The [[Tswana people]] of [[Botswana]] knew Canopus as ''Naka''. Appearing late in winter skies, it heralded increasing winds and a time when trees lose their leaves. Stock owners knew it was time to put their sheep with rams.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clegg|first=Andrew|date=1986|title=Some Aspects of Tswana Cosmology|journal=Botswana Notes and Records|volume=18|pages=33–37|jstor=40979758 }}</ref> In southern Africa, the Sotho, Tswana and Venda people called Canopus ''Naka'' or ''Nanga'', “the Horn Star”, while the Zulu and Swazi called it ''inKhwenkwezi'' "Brilliant star". It appears in the predawn sky in the third week of May. According to the Venda, the first person to see Canopus would blow a ''phalaphala'' horn from the top of a hill, getting a cow for a reward. The Sotho chiefs also awarded a cow, and ordered their medicine men to roll bone dice and read the fortune for the coming year.<ref name=snedegar95>{{cite journal |last1=Snedegar |first1=K.V. |title=Stars and seasons in Southern Africa |journal=Vistas in Astronomy |date=1995 |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=529–38 |doi=10.1016/0083-6656(95)00008-9|bibcode=1995VA.....39..529S }}</ref> To the [[ǀXam language|ǀXam]]-speaking [[Bushmen]] of South Africa, Canopus and Sirius signalled the appearance of termites and flying ants. They also believed that stars had the power to cause death and misfortune, and they would pray to [[Sirius]] and Canopus in particular to impart good fortune or skill.<ref>{{cite journal| title="The Sky's Things", <nowiki>|</nowiki>xam Bushman 'Astrological Mythology' as recorded in the Bleek and Lloyd Manuscripts |last1=Hollman|first1=J. C.|journal=African Sky|volume= 11|page=8 |bibcode=2007AfrSk..11....8H|year = 2007 }}</ref> The [[ǃKung people]] of the [[Kalahari Desert]] in Botswana held Canopus and Capella to be the horns of ''tshxum'' (the Pleiades), the appearance of all three marking the end of the dry season and start of the rainy season.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Lorna |title=Two Ju/ wa constellations |journal=Botswana Notes & Records |date=1975 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=153–159 | issn=0525-5090 |url=https://journals.co.za/docserver/fulltext/botnotes/7/1/548.pdf?expires=1590793041&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=3204085F9555AD9D083799E1F38E3AED}}</ref>

===Americas===
The [[Navajo]] observed the star and named it ''Maʼii Bizòʼ'', the “Coyote Star”. According to legend, Maʼii (Coyote) took part in the naming and placing of the star constellations during
the creation of the universe. He placed Canopus directly south, naming it after himself.<ref name="Maryboy">Maryboy, Nancy D. (2004). ''A Guide to Navajo Astronomy.'' Indigenous Education Institute : Bluff, Utah.</ref>

The [[Kalapalo]] people of [[Mato Grosso]] state in Brazil saw Canopus and [[Procyon]] as ''Kofongo'' "Duck", with [[Castor (star)|Castor]] and [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]] representing his hands. The asterism's appearance signified the coming of the rainy season and increase in [[manioc]], a food staple fed to guests at feasts.<ref name="basso87">{{cite book|last=Basso|first=Ellen B. |title=In Favor of Deceit: A Study of Tricksters in an Amazonian Society|publisher=University of Arizona Press|location=Tucson, Arizona|date=1987|page=[https://archive.org/details/infavorofdeceits0000bass/page/360 360]|isbn=0816510229|url=https://archive.org/details/infavorofdeceits0000bass|url-access=registration}}</ref>

===Australia===
Canopus is identified as the moiety ancestor ''Waa'' "Crow" to some [[Koori]] people in southeastern Australia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mudrooroo|title=Aboriginal mythology: an A-Z spanning the history of aboriginal mythology from the earliest legends to the present day|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|date=1994|page=27|isbn=1-85538-306-3}}</ref> The Boorong people of northwestern Victoria recalled that ''War'' (Canopus) was the brother of ''Warepil'' (Sirius), and that he brought fire from the heavens and introduced it to humanity. His wife was ''Collowgullouric War'' ([[Eta Carinae]]).<ref name=hamacher10>{{cite journal|last1=Hamacher|first1=Duane W. |last2=Frew|first2=David J. |date=2010|title= An Aboriginal Australian Record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae|journal=Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage |volume=13|issue=3|pages= 220–34|doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2010.03.06 |bibcode=2010JAHH...13..220H|arxiv = 1010.4610 |s2cid=118454721 }}</ref> The Pirt-Kopan-noot people of western Victoria tell of ''Waa'' "Crow" falling in love with a queen, ''Gneeanggar'' "Wedge-tailed Eagle"  (Sirius) and her six attendants (the Pleiades). His advances spurned, he hears that the women are foraging for grubs and so transforms himself into a grub. When the women dig him out, he changes into a giant and carries her off.<ref>Mudroodoo, p. 55.</ref>

The Kulin people know Canopus as ''Lo-an-tuka''.<ref name=hamacher10/> Objects in the sky are also associated with states of being for some tribes; the Wailwun of northern New South Wales know Canopus as ''Wumba'' "deaf", alongside Mars as ''Gumba'' "fat" and Venus as ''Ngindigindoer'' "you are laughing".<ref name="noctuary">{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Diane|title=Night skies of aboriginal Australia: a noctuary|publisher=University of Sydney|location=Darlington, New South Wales|date=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/nightskiesofabor0000john/page/84 84]|isbn=1-86451-356-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/nightskiesofabor0000john/page/84}}</ref>

Tasmanian aboriginal lore holds that Canopus is ''Dromerdene'', the brother of ''Moinee''; the two fought and fell out of the sky, with ''Dromerdene'' falling into Louisa Bay in southwest Tasmania.<ref name="haynes2000">{{cite book|last=Haynes|first=Ros D.|title= Astronomy and the Dreaming: The Astronomy of the Aboriginal Australians. Astronomy Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Astronomy|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|date=2000|page=57|doi=10.1007/978-94-011-4179-6_3}}</ref> Astronomer [[Duane Hamacher]] has identified Canopus with ''Moinee'' in a paper dating Tasmanian Aboriginal oral tradition to the late Pleistocene,<ref name=hamacher23>{{cite journal|last1=Hamacher|first1=Duane|last2=Nunn|first2=Patrick|date=2023|title=The archaeology of orality: Dating Tasmanian Aboriginal oral traditions to the Late Pleistocene|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|volume=159 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2023.105819|doi-access=free|bibcode=2023JArSc.159j5819H }}</ref> when Canopus was much closer to the South [[celestial pole]].

===Legacy===
[[File:HMS Glory LOC ggbain.17135.jpg|thumb|right|[[Canopus-class battleship]] HMS Glory]]

Canopus appears on the [[flag of Brazil]], symbolising the state of [[Goiás]].<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Astronomy of the Brazilian Flag 
 |url=https://flagspot.net/flags/br_astro.html 
 |publisher=FOTW Flags Of The World website 
}}</ref>

Two U.S. Navy [[submarine tender]]s have been named after Canopus, the [[USS Canopus (AS-9)|first]] serving from 1922 to 1942 and the [[USS Canopus (AS-34)|second]] serving from 1965 to 1994.

The [[Royal Navy]] built nine [[Canopus-class ship of the line|Canopus-class ships of the line]] in the early 19th century, and six {{Sclass|Canopus|battleship|1}}s which entered services between 1899 and 1902.

There are at least two mountains named after the star: [[Mount Canopus]] in Antarctica; and Mount Canopus or Canopus Hill in [[Tasmania]], the location of the [[Canopus Hill Observatory|Canopus Hill astronomical observatory]].

=== In popular culture ===
* The fictional planet [[Arrakis]], of [[Frank Herbert]]'s 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]],'' orbits Canopus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-18 |title=Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star? |url=https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/few-know-the-second-brightest-star-canopus/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=earthsky.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
{{clear}}
* Canopus is the home of superior and benevolent aliens in Doris Lessing's ''[[Canopus in Argos]]'' books.<ref>[https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-space.html?_r=1 "Doris Lessing on Feminism, Communism and 'Space Fiction'"]</ref>
* Canopus is a system present in the video game [[Helldivers 2]], host to a desert world.