Alderamin

Alderamin 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 HIP105199. (α Cep, HR 8162) in constellation Cep.

Etymology and History

Applied to α Cep since medieval times. The derivation understood since Renaissance times was from al-dhira (al-)yamin, "the Right Forearm," an assumed sci-A descriptive term for α Cep. But this is apparently erroneous. Firstly, in the Almagest, α Cep is described on the right "shoulder" (Arabic al-katif or al-mankib) of Cepheus, whereas no right "forearm" (al-dhira<) is described for the figure. Secondly, in Arabic, "right forearm" is spelled correctly as al-dhira al-yumna, which (in contrast to al-yamin) lacks assonance in the last syllable to Alderamin. Therefore, it is more likely that Alderamin is derived from the various medieval Western abbreviations of muqaddam al-dhira<ain, "the Preceding One of the Two Cubits, or Forearms," which was a sci-A name (based on ind-A) for α Gem. This would have been wrongly transferred to α Cep in medieval times.

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.