Nahn

Nahn is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Persian. It is the name of HIP 44946 (ξ Cnc, HR 3627) in constellation Cancer.

Etymology and History

"Nahn", the Persian term for "Nose".

Variants:

• Pahl. Naxw
• Pāz. Nahn

This is the 10th lunar mansion. In Pahlavi, Naxw means “beginning” or “first.” It corresponds to the 10th Sanskrit asterism Maghā, and in Arabic it aligns with al-Jabha, "forehead", located in the Leo constellation (specifically four stars in the head of the lion). According to Henning, it refers to Regulus and neighboring stars, marking the Lion’s heart or front. The Sogdian form is also associated with Maghā in Sanskrit.

The name was given to ξ Cnc in the NASA Memorandum by Rhoads (1971).

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2018/06/01.

Weblinks

• Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/

Reference

• References (general)
• Rhoads (1971)