Apdu

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Apd(w), ȝpd, The Bird, is an ancient Egyptian constellation. There are at least 21 spelling variants[1] throughout the millennia in hierglyphs, but it unclear which bird is meant, or if it is any specific one.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

schema of a Ramesside Star Clock (Fonctionnement d'une horloge ramesside.) from Karl Richard Lepsius - Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien: Nach den Zeichnungen der von Seiner Majestät dem Könige von Preussen Friedrich Wilhelm IV nach diesen Ländern gesendeten und in den Jahren 1842-1845 ausgeführten wissenschaftlichen Expedition.

The constellation is mentioned in the Ramesside Star Clocks and identified by right ascension.

Spelling Variants

  • Apedu
  • Apdu

Identifications

The area of The Bird must cover a region in Triangulum and close to Algol. Belmonte and Lull (2011) proposed the following identifications:

  • (a) Banat net Apdu (the Peak of the Bird) - α Tri
  • (b) Tep en Apdu (the Head of the Bird) - β Tri
  • (c) Hetyt net Apdu (The Throat of the Bird) - a star close to Algol
  • (d) Iret net Apdu (the Eye of the Bird) - γ Tri

Sources, Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

Here we give a list of all sources where the name is attested.

Source Identification

Religion/ Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

IAU Working Group on Star Names

Irtentapdu (for the eye of the bird, γ Tri) was proposed as a star name in 2023/5 in WGSN.

Weblinks

References

  1. Bojowald, Stefan (2024). Überlegungen zu den Schreibungen des ägyptischen Wortes ȝpd „Vogel“, Équipe Égypte Nilotique et Méditerranéenne: PDF