Mebsuta
Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
| Asterism Info | |
| Native | الذّراع المبسوطه |
|---|---|
| Translation | the Outstretched (Paw) |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 100.9830298 |
| Declination | 25.13112719 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 1 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 1 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Brightest star | Mebsuta (2.98m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | IAU-Star Name |
| IAU- constellations | Gem |
Mebsuta is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Arabic. It is the name of HIP 32246 (ε Gem, HR 2473) in constellation Gem.
Etymology and History
From an abbreviation of the ind-A asterism name dhira' al-asad almabsuta, "the Lion's Outstretched Paw", for one of the two pairs α/β Gem or α/β CMi. These pairs were assigned to the larger ind-A asterism al-asad, but there is no unanimity in the Arabic sources as to which pair was the "outstretched" or "folded" paw. "Mebsuta" was arbitrarily applied as a star name to ε Gem in recent times. In its indigenous location stretching from parts of Gemini all the way into Virgo, the ind-A al-asad, "the Lion", corresponded to what in other cultures was Leo among the zodiacal signs. Subsequently the sci-Arabs used the indigenous name for the smaller Greek Lion (Leo).
Mythology
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2016/07/20.
Weblinks
- Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/
Reference
- References (general)
- 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, Massachusetts: Sky Pub.
