Canopus (α Carinae), the second-brightest star in the night sky after Sirius, was identified in Babylonian astronomy — and in the earlier Sumerian tradition — with the god Ea (Sumerian Enki).

Yes, here's a full English version of the detailed explanation about the identification of the star Canopus (α Carinae) with the god Ea (Sumerian: Enki) in Babylonian (and earlier Sumerian) astronomy:

Canopus (α Carinae), the second-brightest star in the night sky after Sirius, was identified in Babylonian astronomy — and in the earlier Sumerian tradition — with the god Ea (Sumerian Enki).In the earliest Mesopotamian astronomical texts, such as the "Three Stars Each" (the astrolabes listing "three stars for each month") and especially in the important compendium MUL.APIN (circa 1000 BCE), this star was designated as MUL.NUN.KI (𒀯𒉣𒆠) — "The Star of the City of Eridu" (NUN.KI = Eridu).

• Eridu (NUN.KI) was the southernmost and one of the oldest cities in Sumer, the sacred city of the god Ea/Enki — the deity of fresh waters (the Abzu/Apsu), wisdom, magic, creation, and the subterranean watery abyss.
• The star symbolically represented both the city of Eridu and the god Ea himself. This is because Canopus is the southernmost bright star visible (barely) from the latitudes of Mesopotamia (around 32°N). Due to precession of the Earth's axis, around 4000–6000 years ago (and even more so earlier), Canopus rose only slightly above the horizon — and best (or exclusively) from the region of Eridu in the far south of Mesopotamia. It appeared very low and briefly, often aided by atmospheric refraction, making it a fitting "southern" marker tied to Ea's watery, abyssal domain.

In later Babylonian astronomy (Neo-Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenistic periods), the identification Ea = Canopus becomes more explicit in astrological and astronomical texts. The sky was divided into three "paths" (ways/roads) of the gods:

• The path of Enlil (northern stars),
• The path of Anu (equatorial/central),
• The path of Ea (southern stars).

Canopus belonged to the "path of Ea" as the brightest and southernmost prominent star in that sector. In some texts, it is directly stated or implied that Canopus is the star of Ea, symbolizing his city and his southern watery/underworld associations.Key correspondences:

• MUL.NUN.KI = Star of Eridu = Canopus
• Eridu = city of Ea/Enki
• → Canopus = star of Ea

This is one of the most secure and widely accepted identifications in Mesopotamian astronomy (see MUL.APIN tablets I and II; references in Hunger & Pingree's edition, van der Waerden, and others like Gössmann, Kurtik, and modern studies). There is some scholarly discussion whether MUL.NUN.KI referred strictly to the single star Canopus or to a small asterism/group of stars in the ancient large constellation Argo Navis (which included parts of modern Carina, Vela, and Puppis), but the majority consensus points to Canopus as the primary or central identification — especially given its extreme southern position and brightness.Some alternative or broader proposals place MUL.NUN.KI in the region around λ Velorum or other southern stars in Vela/Carina, but Canopus remains the dominant and most cited match in popular and scholarly accounts linking it directly to Ea/Enki and Eridu.If you'd like more details — such as direct quotes/translations from MUL.APIN (e.g., from Hunger/Pingree or Steele's recent edition), the role of precession in visibility from ancient Eridu, mythological connections to the Abzu, or comparisons with Greek/Egyptian traditions — just let me know!