Ain
Ain 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 HIP 20889 (ε Tau, HR 1409) in constellation Tau.
Etymology and History
Kunitzsch and Smart (2006)[1] think, the name is an abbreviation of the scholarly Arabic in mediaeval times, name ain al-thaur, "the Bull's Eye", for α Tau which was applied to ε Tau in recent times. However, Ptolemy had α Tau the southern eye, and ε Tau on the northern eye.
Ptolemy's Almagest (~135 CE)
| id | Greek
(Heiberg 1898) |
English
(Toomer 1984) |
ident. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ταύρου ἀστερισμός | Constellation of Taurus | ||
| 14 | ὁ λαμπρὸς τῶν Ῥάδων ἐπὶ τοῦ νοτίου ὀφθαλμοῦ ὑπόκιρρος | The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the bright star ofthe Hyades, the reddishone on the southern eye | α Tau |
| 15 | ὁ λοιπὸς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ βορεύου ὀφθαλμοῦ | The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the remaining one, on the nordlern eye | ε Tau |
Arabic translation
| 14 | ... | النجوم في الوجه، تسمى ”الهياديس“: النجم الساطع من الهياديس، النجم المحمر في العين الجنوبية | α Tau | |
| 15 | ... | النجوم في الوجه، تسمى ”الهياديس“: النجمة المتبقية، على العين الشمالية | ε Tau |
The fact of Taurus, the Bull, consists of two eyes, nostrils and other stars in the Hyadres star cluster. So, the name "Eye" can be a direct translation from Ancient Greek to Arabic.
Mythology
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2015/12/15. The star is a yellow giant with a confirmed exoplanet which was named simultaneously with the star (Amateru).
Ain - profile card (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU-WGSN).
Ain - stickfigure (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU-WGSN).
Ain's planet Amateru - profile card (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU-WGSN).
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.
- ↑ 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.
