Al-Qaṭa

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

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Al-Qaṭā with surrouding asterisms as described in Anwāʾ sources. (CC BY Khalid Al-Ajaji 2026).

Al-Qaṭā (ar|القَطَا, “the sandgrouse”) is a traditional Arabic asterism identified with a chain of faint stars extending from Microscopium through Piscis Austrinus, ending short of Fomalhaut.

Etymology

Lisān al-ʿarab defines القَطَا, in باب الواو والياء فصل القاف, as follows:

«والقَطَا: طَائِرٌ مَعْرُوفٌ، سُمِّيَ بِذَلِكَ لثِقَل مَشيْه، وَاحِدَتُهُ قَطاة.»

“Al-qaṭā: a well-known bird, so called because of the heaviness of its gait; its singular is qaṭāh.”

The Arabic word ar|القَطَا denotes the sandgrouse, a desert bird traditionally famed for knowing the location of water. The name alludes to the birds’ manner of flight: they proceed in a strung-out succession, as expressed in Ibn Qutayba’s simile ar|كتقاطر القَطَا في طيرانها (“like sandgrouse following one another in their flight”).

Sources

Ibn Qutayba

Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE) places al-Makākī east of al-Ṣurad al-Aʿlā, and al-Qaṭā above al-Makākī. He describes al-Qaṭā as faint stars arranged in succession, most of them in pairs:

وعند الصُّرَدِ الأعلى مما يلي المشرق «المَكَاكِيُّ»، وهي تشبه كواكب الشَّرَاسِيفِ. و«القَطَا» فوق المَكَاكِيِّ، وهي كواكب متقاطرة كتقاطر القَطَا في طيرانها، غير نيرة، أكثرها كوكبان كوكبان.

English

Near al-Ṣurad al-Aʿlā, on its eastern side, are al-Makākī, which resemble the stars of al-Sharāsīf. Above al-Makākī is al-Qaṭā: stars strung out one after another, like sandgrouse following one another in flight. They are not bright; most occur in pairs.

Al-Marzūqī

Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE) similarly calls al-Qaṭā stars arranged in succession like sandgrouse, but preserves a different reading of the final phrase:

وهنالك: القَطَا، وهي كواكب متقاطرة كتقاطر القَطَا، وهي كواكب غير نيّرة إلَّا كوكبان.

English

There, too, is al-Qaṭā: stars strung out one after another like sandgrouse. They are faint stars, except for two. </blockquot

Ibn al-Ṣūfī

Ibn al-Ṣūfī (d. after 400 AH / 1009 CE) in Urjūzat al-Kawākib provides the principal positional evidence. It places a strung and interlocked group of stars between al-Yamāmatān—four small stars at the tail of the Archer’s horse—and the star of al-Ḍifdiʿ, identified here with Fomalhaut. Some members lie on the body of the Southern Fish: its flank, breast, and back.

فَوْقَهُمَا كَوَاكِبٌ مُجْتَمِعَهْ ⁘ صَغِيرَةٌ عَدَدُهُنَّ أَرْبَعَهْ
مِنْ عِنْدِهَا لِلطِّرْفِ يَنْشُو الذَّنَبُ ⁘ لَقَّبَهَا اليَمَامَتَيْنِ العَرَبُ
وَبَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ نَجْمِ الضِّفْدِعِ ⁘ وَهْوَ لِمَاءِ الدَّلْوِ عِنْدَ الـمَقْطَعِ
كَوَاكِبٌ مَنْظُومَةٌ مُسْتَبِكَهْ ⁘ وَبَعْضُهُنَّ مِنْ نُجُومِ السَّمَكَهْ
فِي جَنْبِهَا وَالصَّدْرِ مِنْهَا وَالـمَطَا ⁘ يَعْرِفُهَا الأَعْرَابُ طُرًّا بِالقَطَا

English

Above them are a group of stars,
small, four in number.
From them, towards the extremity, the tail rises;
the Arabs call them al-Yamāmatān.
And between them and the star of al-Ḍifdiʿ—
which is at the end of the water of al-Dalw, where it is poured out—
are stars strung together and interwoven,
some of them among the stars of the Fish,
on its side, breast, and back;
the Bedouin all know them as al-Qaṭā.

In this passage, ar|المطا means “the back.” The description is significant because Ibn al-Ṣūfī gives no Arabic star names for the individual stars of Piscis Austrinus.

Astronomical correspondence

The proposed chain satisfies four features of the textual descriptions.

• A strung line. Its declination range is only 2.1°, from −30.90° to −33.03°, while it extends about 29° in right ascension.
• Faintness. Its visual magnitudes range from 4.21 to 5.01; none is conspicuous compared with Fomalhaut.
• Pairs. Several consecutive members form close couples separated by wider intervals.
• Termination before Fomalhaut. δ Piscis Austrini is the eastern terminus of the proposed chain, while Fomalhaut remains distinct. This accounts for the description of al-Qaṭā as “not bright” despite its proximity to the brightest star in the region.

The close pairs support Ibn Qutayba’s wording ar|أكثرها كوكبان كوكبان (“most of them [are] two stars, two stars”).

Textual reading

The accounts of Ibn Qutayba and al-Marzūqī preserve two readings:

Source	Reading	Sense
Ibn Qutayba	أكثرها كوكبان كوكبان	Most of them are in pairs
Al-Marzūqī	غير نيّرة إلّا كوكبان	Not bright except for two stars

Al-Marzūqī transmits the passage through Abū Ḥanīfa al-Dīnawarī in a continuous chain of attribution, so the readings represent independent branches of the tradition rather than a simple original-and-copyist relationship. The proposed stellar configuration favors Ibn Qutayba’s reading: the chain contains three close pairs separated by larger intervals, but no two stars visibly stand out in brightness from the remainder.

Relation to neighbouring asterisms

Al-Qaṭā and Al-Riʾāl (الرِّئَال) together form the southern boundary of Al-ʿĀna.

Identification

Al-Qaṭā is identified with a nearly level chain between declinations −31° and −33°, extending from γ Microscopii at the western end to δ Piscis Austrini at the eastern end. The chain stops about 3.3° short of Fomalhaut (α Piscis Austrini), which is treated as a separately named star.

Proposed members of al-Qaṭā

Star	Visual magnitude
γ Microscopii	4.65
ε Microscopii	4.71
ι Piscis Austrini	4.34
θ Piscis Austrini	5.01
μ Piscis Austrini	4.50
τ Piscis Austrini	4.92
β Piscis Austrini	4.29
γ Piscis Austrini	4.46
δ Piscis Austrini	4.21

References