Nahn

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula


Nahn
Asterism Info
Native
Nahn
Translation
Nose
Position (2000)
Right ascension137.3397548
Declination22.04543837
Area0 sq. deg.
Stars
Bright stars1
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars
1
Stars brighter than 3.00m0
Brightest starNahn (5.149m)
Taxonomy
category
of asterism
IAU-Star Name
IAU-
constellations
Cnc

Nahn is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Persian. It is the name of HIP 44946 (ξ Cnc, HR 3627) in constellation Cancer.

Etymology and History

"Nahn", the Persian term for "Nose".

Variants:

  • Pahl. Naxw
  • Pāz. Nahn

This is the 10th lunar mansion. In Pahlavi, Naxw means “beginning” or “first.” It corresponds to the 10th Sanskrit asterism Maghā, and in Arabic it aligns with al-Jabha, "forehead", located in Leo (specifically four stars in the head of the lion). According to Henning, it refers to Regulus and neighboring stars, marking the Lion’s heart or front. The Sogdian form is also associated with Maghā in Sanskrit.

The name was given to ξ Cnc in the NASA Memorandum by Rhoads (1971).

Mythology

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2018/06/01.

Reference