List of star names in Pisces

This is the list of the proper names for the stars in the constellation Pisces. (Used modern western astronomy and uranography only).

List[edit]

star proper name derivation
α Psc Alrescha Arabic
Okda Arabic
Kaitain Arabic
β Psc Fum al Samakah Arabic
η Psc Alpherg Arabic
ο Psc Torcularis Septentrionalis Latin

Etymologies[edit]

α Psc[edit]

  • Alrescha (Al Rescha, Al Richa, Alrischa, Al Rischa, Alrisha, El Rischa):
< (ar) al-rishā’ , "the cord" < (ind.-ar)[1] al-Rishā’, "the Rope (of the well-Bucket)", for β And. Later, wrongly transferred to this star.
  • Okda:
< (ar) ‘uqdah, "knot" < (sci.-ar)[2] ‘aqd al-khayṭayn, "the knot of the cord", for this star.
  • Kaitain:
< (ar) khayṭayn, "cord" < (sci.-ar) ‘aqd al-khayṭayn, for this star.

β Psc[edit]

  • Fum al Samakah:
< (sci.-ar) fam al-Samakah, "the mouth of the Fish", for this star.

η Psc[edit]

  • Alpherg:
< (ar) al-farg, "the beak-shaped spout (of the well-Bucket)", < (ind.-ar) al-farg al-Muqaddam, "the Fore Spout", for β and α Peg as 24th Arabic lunar mansion, or al-farg al-Mu'akhkhar, "the Rear Spout", for α And and γ Peg as 25th Aerabic lunar mansion, later erroneously transferred to this star.
  • Kullat Nūnu:
The star had an obscure Babylonian name Kullat Nūnu−the latter being the Babylonian word for fish and the former "Kullat" referring to either a bucket or the cord that ties the fish together.

ο Psc[edit]

  • Torcularis Septentrionalis:
< (la) torcularis septentrionalis, "northern press".

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ ind.-ar = indigenous Arabic. See Kunitzsch & Smart (2006) p.4.
  2. ^ sci.-ar = scientific Arabic. See Kunitzsch & Smart (2006) p.4.

References[edit]

  • Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (rep. ed.). New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0-486-21079-0.
  • 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, MA: Sky Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1-931559-44-7.