Alphard
From All Skies Encyclopaedia
Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
| Asterism Info | |
| Native | الفرد |
|---|---|
| IPA | [al.phard] |
| Translation | the Solitary One |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 141.8968446 |
| Declination | -8.65859953 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 1 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 1 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Brightest star | Alphard (1.97m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | IAU-Star Name |
| IAU- constellations | Hya |
Alphard 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 46390 (α Hya, HR 3748) in constellation Hya.
Etymology and History
Applied in medieval times from its ind-A name al-fard, "the Solitary One", descriptive of this star's standing out among the surrounding dim stars. (See the same word in the plural, with ζ CMa.)
Mythology
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2016/07/20.
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.
