Rasalnaqa
Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
| Asterism Info | |
| Native | أس العقنقة |
|---|---|
| Translation | The Head of the She-Camel |
| Position (2000) | |
| Right ascension | 354.5341679 |
| Declination | 43.26807305 |
| Area | 0 sq. deg. |
| Stars | |
| Bright stars | 1 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 1 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Brightest star | Rasalnaqa (4.29m) |
| Taxonomy | |
| category of asterism | IAU-Star Name |
| IAU- constellations | And |
The Arabic term "Ras al Naqa" originially designated the asterism of three or four stars in the area that shaped the hand of classical Andromeda. al-Nāqa (الناقة) is the She-Camel that covered the area of Cassiopeia but its head is in the region of Andromeda.
It is the modern star name of ι And (HR 8965, HIP 116631).
Etymology and History
In the image, it looks as if the lady in the constellation of Andromeda "feeds" the dromedary: her hand really occupies the same space. In the Almagest, three stars (ι, κ, λ And) are listed in "the hand of Andromeda" but there is actually a fourth one: ψ Andromedae. These four seem to be depicted in the "Head of the She-Camel" in the earliest known manuscripts of al-Sufi (see image on the right).
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was discussed and adopted by the IAU WGSN in 2025.
Weblinks
- Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/
