Sukhurmashu

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann

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Sukhurmashu, The Goat-Fish, is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Akkadian. It is the name of the star alf01 Cap in constellation Capricornus.

Concordance, Etymology, History

The Goat-Fish depicted on a kudurru stone from Susa 1200 BCE.

^mulSUḪUR.MAŠ₂ is the Sumerian spelling and the Akkadian equivalent is ^(mul)Suḫurmāšu. It refers to a creature that has been used in daily rituals to heal people from illness, protect family members and dear ones etc.

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was suggested to the IAU WGSN in 2023 to be used for any star in the constellation of Capricornus to preserve the very ancient heritage of this constellation. As Alpha Cap is a visual double star whose primary has been named for centuries while the fainter neighbour only got a recent designation with prepended "Prima", WGSN decided to dedicate this very ancient name to the second "Alpha" in the constellation. It was discussed and adopted to the IAU-CSN on 16 July 2023.

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Reference

• References (general)
• References (early modern)
• Ian Ridpath's website (Star Tales )