List of star names in Pisces

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the list of the proper names for the stars in the constellation Pisces. (Used modern western astronomy and uranography only).

List[edit]

star proper name derivation
α Psc Alrescha Arabic
Okda Arabic
Kaitain Arabic
β Psc Fum al Samakah Arabic
η Psc Alpherg Arabic
ο Psc Torcularis Septentrionalis Latin

Etymologies[edit]

α Psc[edit]

  • Alrescha (Al Rescha, Al Richa, Alrischa, Al Rischa, Alrisha, El Rischa):
< (ar) al-rishā’ , "the cord" < (ind.-ar)[1] al-Rishā’, "the Rope (of the well-Bucket)", for β And. Later, wrongly transferred to this star.
  • Okda:
< (ar) ‘uqdah, "knot" < (sci.-ar)[2] ‘aqd al-khayṭayn, "the knot of the cord", for this star.
  • Kaitain:
< (ar) khayṭayn, "cord" < (sci.-ar) ‘aqd al-khayṭayn, for this star.

β Psc[edit]

  • Fum al Samakah:
< (sci.-ar) fam al-Samakah, "the mouth of the Fish", for this star.

η Psc[edit]

  • Alpherg:
< (ar) al-farg, "the beak-shaped spout (of the well-Bucket)", < (ind.-ar) al-farg al-Muqaddam, "the Fore Spout", for β and α Peg as 24th Arabic lunar mansion, or al-farg al-Mu'akhkhar, "the Rear Spout", for α And and γ Peg as 25th Aerabic lunar mansion, later erroneously transferred to this star.
  • Kullat Nūnu:
The star had an obscure Babylonian name Kullat Nūnu−the latter being the Babylonian word for fish and the former "Kullat" referring to either a bucket or the cord that ties the fish together.

ο Psc[edit]

  • Torcularis Septentrionalis:
< (la) torcularis septentrionalis, "northern press".

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ ind.-ar = indigenous Arabic. See Kunitzsch & Smart (2006) p.4.
  2. ^ sci.-ar = scientific Arabic. See Kunitzsch & Smart (2006) p.4.

References[edit]

  • Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (rep. ed.). New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0-486-21079-0.
  • Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Sky Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1-931559-44-7.