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Beta Andromedae (β Andromedae, abbreviated Beta And, β And), also named Mirach,[13] is a prominent star in the northern constellation of Andromeda. It is located northeast of the Great Square of Pegasus and is theoretically visible to all observers north of 54° S. It is commonly used by stargazers to find the Andromeda Galaxy. The galaxyNGC 404, also known as Mirach's Ghost, is visible seven arc-minutes away.[14]
This star has an average apparent visual magnitude of 2.05,[2] which makes it the brightest star in the constellation. However, the luminosity varies slightly from magnitude +2.01 to +2.10.[3] Based upon parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of roughly 197 light-years (60 parsecs) from the Sun.[1] The apparent magnitude of this star is reduced by 0.06 from extinction caused by the gas and dust along the line of sight.[7]
It had the traditional name of Mirach, and its variations, such as Mirac, Mirar, Mirath, Mirak, etc. (the name is spelled Merach in Burritt's The Geography of the Heavens),[16] which come from the star's description in the Alfonsine Tables of 1521 as super mizar. Here, mirat is a corruption of the Arabicمئزرmīzar "girdle", which appeared in a Latin translation of the Almagest.[12] This word refers to Mirach's position at the left hip of the princess Andromeda.[17]
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[18] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[19] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Mirach for this star.
Medieval astronomers writing in Arabic called β Andromedae Janb al-Musalsalah (English: The Side of the Chained (Lady)); it was part of the 28th manzil (Arabian lunar mansion) Baṭn al-Ḥūt, the Belly of the Fish, or Qalb al-Ḥūt, the Heart of the Fish.[12][20] The star has also been called Cingulum and Ventrale.[12] This al-Ḥūt was an indigenous Arabic constellation, not the Western "Northern Fish" part of the constellation Pisces.[20] These names are not from the Arabic marāqq, loins, because it was never called al-Marāqq in Arabian astronomy.[20]Al Rishā', the Cord (of the well-bucket), on al-Sūfī's star map. It is origin of the proper name Alrescha for Alpha Piscium.[12][21][22]
^ abcdJohnson, H. L.; et al. (1966), "UBVRIJKL photometry of the bright stars", Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 4 (99), Bibcode:1966CoLPL...4...99J
^ abcdNSV 414, database entry, table of suspected variable stars, Combined General Catalog of Variable Stars (GCVS4.2, 2004 Ed.), N. N. Samus, O. V. Durlevich, et al., CDS ID II/250.
^HR 337, database entry, The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed. (Preliminary Version), D. Hoffleit and W. H. Warren, Jr., CDS ID V/50. Accessed on line August 12, 2008.
^Elgarøy, Øystein; Engvold, Oddbjørn; Lund, Niels (March 1999), "The Wilson-Bappu effect of the MgII K line - dependence on stellar temperature, activity and metallicity", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 343: 222–228, Bibcode:1999A&A...343..222E
^ abcdeMassarotti, Alessandro; et al. (January 2008), "Rotational and Radial Velocities for a Sample of 761 HIPPARCOS Giants and the Role of Binarity", The Astronomical Journal, 135 (1): 209–231, Bibcode:2008AJ....135..209M, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/1/209
^Kunitsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern Star names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Publishing Corp. p. 50. ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.
^Rogers, J. H. (February 1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions". Journal of the British Astronomical Association, no.1. 108: 9–28. Bibcode:1998JBAA..108....9R.
Further reading
Davis Jr., G. A., (1971) Pronunciations, Derivations, and Meanings of a Selected List of Star Names, (rep.) Cambridge, Sky Publishing Corp.
Kunitzsch, P., (1959) Arabische Sternnamen in Europa
Kunitzsch. P., (ed.) (1990) Der Sternkatalog des Almagest, Band II
