Alrescha

Alrescha 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 9487 (α Psc, HR 596) in constellation Psc.

Etymology and History

From the ind-A lunar mansion name al-risha', "the Cord", for β And. Wrongly transferred to α Psc in recent times. According to a sci-A source, the ind-A al-risha' included, in a larger sense, two curving lines of mostly dim stars in Andromeda and Pisces, meant to attach to the ind-A al-dalw "the Well Bucket" (marked by today's Square of Pegasus). It is also possible that this "cord" was a remnant of the cord joining the two fish of the older Babylonian zodiac. Indeed, these stars of the cord were alternatively known by the ind-Arabs as al-hut, "the Fish" (a single fish), corresponding to what in other cultures was Pisces among the zodiacal signs (and according to this tradition, the Fish's brightest star, β And, was batn al-hut, "the Fish's Belly").

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2016/08/21.

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.