Kuma

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula

"Kuma" is already in SIMBAD for the star Nu Draconis, a spectroscopic binary with little information in SIMBAD. The star is visible for the human eye; its components are given at 4.85 and 4.89 mag in Stellarium (slightly different in the wikipedia), so the integrated brightness is V~4.12 mag.

The star "nu Dra" marked in Stellarium, sky culture "Almagest" (CC BY Hoffmann for WGSN 2026).

Concordance, Etymology, History

The name Kuma was among the 14 names originating from Antonín Bečvář's 1948 Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens.[1] James B. Kaler[2] notes that Kuma is of "obscure origin" and noting that one source had postulated it meant "at last". As other mysterious star name in Bečvář's atlas could point to an origin in Hebrew, we state that the term "kuma" קומה means "stand up".

Mythology

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name has been in SIMBAD for long time, but is rarely used in the scientific literature. As the term "Kuma" is the name of the asteroid (6255) Kuma, it cannot be used as an IAU-star name.

Reference

  1. ↑ Reilly, Doug (17 January 2013). "Star Atlas Mystery: The Bečvář 14". Bicycle Astronomy. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Kaler, Jim. "Kuma". stars.astro.illinois.edu. University of Illinois. Retrieved
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