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Arabic Star Names
This is a list of Arabic star names. In Western astronomy, most of the accepted star names are Arabic, a few are Greek language, Greek and some are of unknown origin. Typically only bright stars have names. History of Arabic star names Very old star names originated among people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula more than a thousand years ago, after the rise of Islam. However, some Arabic language star names sprang up later in history, as translations of ancient Greek language descriptions. The astronomer Ptolemy, Claudius Ptolemy in his ''Almagest'' (2nd century) tabulated the celestial position and brightness (visual magnitude) of 1,025 stars. Ptolemy's book was translated into Arabic in the 8th and 9th centuries and became famous in Europe as a 12th-century Latin translation. Many of the Arabic-language star descriptions in the ''Almagest'' came to be widely used as names for stars. Ptolemy used a strategy of "figure reference" to identify stars according to their position w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest include planets, natural satellite, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxy, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonian astronomy, Babylonians, Greek astronomy, Greeks, Indian astronomy, Indians, Egyptian astronomy, Egyptians, Chinese astronomy, Chinese, Maya civilization, Maya, and many anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo (constellation)
Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac, between Cancer (constellation), Cancer the crab to the west and Virgo (constellation), Virgo the maiden to the east. It is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for lion, and to the ancient Greeks represented the Nemean Lion killed by the mythical Greek hero Heracles meaning 'Glory of Hera' (known to the ancient Romans as Hercules) as one of his Twelve Labours, twelve labors. Its old astronomical symbol is (♌︎). One of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, Leo remains one of the 88 modern constellations today, and one of the most easily recognizable due to its many bright stars and a distinctive shape that is reminiscent of the crouching lion it depicts. The lion's mane and shoulders also form an asterism (astronomy), asterism known as "The Sickle," which to modern observers may resemble a backwards "question mark." Features Stars Leo contains many bright stars, many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albali
Epsilon Aquarii, Latinized from ε Aquarii, is a single star in the equatorial zodiac constellation of Aquarius, located near the western constellation border with Capricornus. It has the proper name Albali , now formally recognized by the IAU. This is a white-hued star that is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.77. Based upon parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission, it is located at a distance of approximately from the Sun with an absolute magnitude of −0.46. The star is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −15 km/s. This object is an A-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of A1 V. It is an estimated 388 million years old with a high rate of spin, showing a projected rotational velocity of around 118 km/s. The elemental abundances in the stellar atmosphere are close to solar, with pronounced underabundances of aluminium and strontium. The star has three times the mass of the Sun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Draconis
Beta Draconis, a name Latinized from β Draconis, is a binary star system and the third-brightest star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Draco. The two components are designated Beta Draconis A (officially named Rastaban , the traditional name of the system) and B respectively. With a combined apparent visual magnitude of 2.79, it is bright enough to be easily seen with the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, it lies at a distance of about from the Sun. The system is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −21 km/s. The binary system consists of a bright giant orbited by a dwarf companion once every four millennia or so. The companion is about 11 magnitudes fainter than the primary star, and the two are separated by . The spectrum of the primary, Beta Draconis A, matches a stellar classification of G2Ib-IIa, showing mixed features of a bright giant and a supergiant star, and is listed as a standard s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nu Draconis
Nu Draconis (also known as ν Dra, ν Draconis, or traditionally as Kuma ) is a double star in the constellation Draco. The respective components are designated ν1 Draconis and ν2 Draconis. The second component is a spectroscopic binary star system. This star, along with β Dra (Rastaban), γ Dra (Eltanin), μ Dra (Alrakis) and ξ Dra (Grumium) were Al ʽAwāïd, "the Mother Camels", which was later known as the Quinque Dromedarii. In Chinese, (), meaning '' Celestial Flail'', refers to an asterism consisting of ν Draconis, ξ Draconis, β Draconis, γ Draconis and ι Herculis. Consequently, the Chinese name for ν Draconis itself is (, en, the Second Star of Celestial Flail.) , Hong Kong Spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xi Draconis
Xi Draconis (ξ Draconis, abbreviated Xi Dra, ξ Dra) is a double or binary star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Draco. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.75. Based upon parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of from the Sun. At this distance, the apparent magnitude is diminished by 0.03 from extinction caused by intervening gas and dust. The two components are designated Xi Draconis A (officially named Grumium , a traditional name for the system) and B. Nomenclature ''ξ Draconis'' ( Latinised to ''Xi Draconis'') is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the two components as ''Xi Draconis A'' and ''B'' derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It bore the traditional names ''Grumium''. This is a graphic corruption of the Latin ''Grunnum'' 'snout', as Ptolemy had described this star as being on the jawbone o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamma Draconis
Gamma Draconis (γ Draconis, abbreviated Gamma Dra, γ Dra), formally named Eltanin , is a star in the northern constellation of Draco. Contrary to its gamma-designation (historically third-ranked), it is the brightest star in Draco at magnitude 2.2, outshining Beta Draconis by nearly half a magnitude and Alpha Draconis by over a magnitude. Gamma Draconis is at a distance of from the Sun, as determined by parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. In 1728, while unsuccessfully attempting to measure the parallax of this star, the English astronomer James Bradley discovered the aberration of light resulting from the relative movement of the Earth. Bradley's discovery apparently confirmed Copernicus' theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun. In 1.5 million years, Gamma Draconis will pass within 28 light years of Earth. For a period, if its current absolute magnitude does not change, it will be the brightest star in the night sky, nearly as bright ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother Camels
The protecting Mother Camels (Arabic العوائذ ''alʽawaʼid'') is an asterism in the constellation of Draco described by ancient Arabic nomadic tribes. The asterism was interpreted as a ring of mother camels – Beta Draconis (Rastaban), Gamma Draconis (Eltanin), Nu Draconis (Kuma) and Xi Draconis (Grumium) – surrounding a foal (the faint star Alruba), with another mother camel, Mu Draconis (Alrakis) running to join them. The Arabs did not see the constellation Draco as it is now. The Mother Camels were protecting the foal from the attack of two wolves or jackals – Zeta Draconis (Aldhibah) and Eta Draconis (Athebyne). The faint pair Omega Draconis Omega Draconis, Latinized from ω Draconis and also known as 28 Draconis, is a binary star in the constellation of Draco. The system is fairly close, and is located about 76 light-years (23 parsecs) away, based on its parallax. Omega Dra ... and 27 Draconis was known as the "wolf's claws" (الأظفار الذئب ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eta Lyrae
Eta Lyrae, a name Latinized from η Lyrae, is a likely binary star system in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the traditional name Aladfar and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.43. The system is located at a distance of approximately 1,390 light years from the Sun based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −8 km/s. Nomenclature ''η Lyrae'' ( Latinised to ''Eta Lyrae'') is the binary star's Bayer designation. Its designation as the ''A'' component of a double star, and of its two constituents as the ''Aa'' and ''Ab'' components, derives from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). 'BD +38 3491' is the 'B' component's designation in the Bonner Durchmusterung astrometric star catalogue. Eta Lyrae bore the traditional name ''Aladfar'', from the Arabic ''الأظفر'' ''al-ʼ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taurus (constellation)
Taurus (Latin for "the Bull") is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to the Early Bronze Age at least, when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Its old astronomical symbol is (♉︎), which resembles a bull's head. A number of features exist that are of interest to astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northeast part of Taurus is Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epsilon Tauri
Epsilon Tauri or ε Tauri, formally named Ain (), is an orange giant star located approximately 45 parsecs (147 light-years) from the Sun in the constellation of Taurus. An extrasolar planet (designated Epsilon Tauri b, later named Amateru) is believed to be orbiting the star. It is a member of the Hyades open cluster. As such its age is well constrained at 625 million years. It is claimed to be the heaviest among planet-harboring stars with reliable initial masses although the star HD 13189 is potentially more massive. Given its large mass, this star, though presently of spectral type K0 III, was formerly of spectral type A that has now evolved off the main sequence into the giant phase. It is regarded as a red clump giant; that is, a core-helium burning star. Since Epsilon Tauri lies near the plane of the ecliptic, it is sometimes occulted by the Moon and (very rarely) by planets. It has an 11th magnitude companion 182 arcseconds from the primary. Nomenclature ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Draconis
Thuban (), with Bayer designation Alpha Draconis or α Draconis, is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Draco. A relatively inconspicuous star in the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere, it is historically significant as having been the north pole star from the 4th to 2nd millennium BC. Johann Bayer gave Thuban the designation Alpha and placed it as the only member of his ''secundae'' magnitude class in Draco, although its current apparent magnitude of 3.65 means it is 3.7 times fainter than the brightest star in the constellation, Gamma Draconis (Eltanin), which Bayer placed in his ''tertiae'' magnitude class although its current apparent magnitude is 2.24. Nomenclature ''α Draconis'' ( Latinised to ''Alpha Draconis'') is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ''Thuban'' is derived from the Arabic word ' ('large snake' (e.g. a python or a legendary draconian serpent)). It is sometimes known as the ''Dragon's Tail'' and as ''Adib'' . In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
