Telum

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann

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Telum, The Dart, is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Latin. It is the name of the star γ Sge in constellation Sagitta.

Concordance, Etymology, History

The name occurs as name or name variant of the classical constellation Sagitta apparently for the entire last millennium. Prominent mentions are the label in the first printed star map in history, the map by A. Dürer 1515, who used "Telum" as a constellation label.

Bayer (1603) in his Uranometria, which set a nomenclature standard for stars that is still used, gave "Telum" at least as an alternative.

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  Telum in Dürer (1515)
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  Telum in Bayer (1603)
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  Telum in Kepler (1627)

Mythology

In modern popculture Star Trek: "Telum is a star system near the borders of the Federation, Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire, located in the galaxy's Sagittarius Arm, somewhere in the space of the Alpha or Beta Quadrants."

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was suggested to the IAU WGSN in 2026 for the brightest star of the constellation in order to make its transformation from a huge Greek arrow (almost a spear) to a small Roman dart obvious. On the ancient Greek arrow, two gods could take seat, but the constellation as seen today is tiny. The name Telum, the Dart, has been a name variant in many historical maps and star catalogs of the past millennium, although the constellation itself is more than one millennium older.

The name Telum was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 18 June 2026 for the star γ Sge.

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Reference

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