Alshat

Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Roland Laffitte, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, IanRidpath

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Alshat 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 100310 (ν Cap, HR 7773) in constellation Cap.

Etymology and History

The Arabic term سعد الذابح, Saʿd al-Dhābiḥ, The Lucky Asterism of the Slaughterer (22 lunar station), consists of the 3 stars: α¹, β and ν Cap. As α and β already have proper names, the corrupted form "shat" (for sad) was used to name ν Cap.

Arabic star names in Capricornus (CC BY Roland Laffitte 2025)

Roland Laffitte (2025):

Emprunté au milieu du XX^e siècle et aujourd’hui approuvé par l’UAI, cette appellation correspond à al-Šāt, « la Brebis », que la tradition arabe préislamique a voulu voir comme l’animal égorgé par le Sacrificateur, probablement dans une cérémonie d’istisqā’, c’est-à-dire d’invocation de la pluie (voir β Cap). Arabe: al-Šāt, c/ al-Ṣūfī comme une des étoiles de la XXII^e station, soit αβ ; al-Qazwīnī p/ ν Cap, ‘Al Shat’, Allen. Al Shat, Jurdak, Rhoads, Alshat, Hoffleit, etc., Simbad, UAI.

in English

Borrowed in the mid-20th century and now recognised by the UAI, this name corresponds to al-Šāt, ‘the Ewe’, which pre-Islamic Arab tradition regarded as the animal slaughtered by the Sacrificer, probably during an istisqā’ ceremony, that is, a ritual to invoke rain (see β Cap). Arabic: al-Šāt, c/ al-Ṣūfī as one of the stars of the 22nd constellation, i.e. αβ; al-Qazwīnī p/ ν Cap, ‘Al Shat’, Allen. Al Shat, Jurdak, Rhoads, Alshat, Hoffleit, etc., Simbad, UAI.

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2017/06/30.

Weblinks

• Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/

Reference

• References (general)
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