Sirius its constellation, Canis Major (Greater Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians in the Southern Hemisphere the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean. The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. Its displacement from the ecliptic causes this heliacal rising to be remarkably regular compared to other stars, with a period of almost exactly 365.25 days holding it constant relative to the
Sirius "Aa" ("glowing"), "Hoku-kauopae", "Kau-ano-meha" (also "Kaulanomeha"), "Standing-alone-and-sacred", "Hiki-kauelia" or "Hiki-kauilia" (the navigational name), "Hiki-kau-lono-meha" ("star of solitary Lono", the astrological name), "Kaulua" (also "Kaulua-ihai-mohai", "flower of the heavens"), "Hiki-kauelia", "Hoku-hoo-kele-waa" ("star which causes the canoe to sail", a marine navigation name), and "Kaulua-lena" ("yellow star"). The people of the Society Islands called Sirius variously "Taurua-fau-papa", "Taurua-nui-te-amo-aha", and "Taurua-e-hiti-i-tara-te-feiai". Other names for Sirius included "Palolo-mua" (Futuna), "Mere" (Mangaia), "Apura" (Manihiki), "Taku-ua" (Marquesas Islands), and "Tokiva" (Pukapuka). In the cosmology of the Tuamotus, Sirius had various names, including "Takurua-te-upuupu", "Te Kaha" ("coconut fibre"), "Te Upuupu", "Taranga", and "Vero-ma-torutoru" ("flaming and diminishing"). The