Anser

From All Skies Encyclopaedia

Anser 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 HIPIntegerPart[] (α Vul, HR 7405) in constellation Vul.

Etymology and History

Johannes & Elisabetha Hevelius created “Vulpecula cum Ansere” (the Little Fox with the Goose) out of unformed stars in the space between Cygnus and Aquila. The constellation first appeared in Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia (1687) and the accompanying introductory text, Prodromus astronomiae (1690). To emphasize that it was his own creation, Hevelius dedicated Figure L to the pair, shown as a detail in Fig. 3.1. In atlases published before Hevelius, its stars are shown simply marking the flow of the Milky Way through the area. Ian Ridpath (1989) noted that “Hevelius placed the fox near two other hunting animals, the eagle (the constellation Aquila) and the vulture (which was an alternative identification for Lyra). He explained that the fox was taking the goose to neighbouring Cerberus, another of his inventions.”unnamed before.

Mythology

IAU Working Group on Star Names

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

Weblinks

Reference