Galaxies, Stars and Constellations with Arabic names

An interesting subject raised by Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson in one of his lectures.



As it were, most of the brighter, most visible stars, have Arabic names.

The list speaks for itself. 165 of them by one count....

www.muslimheritage.com...

www.muslimheritage.com/article/arabic-star-names-treasure-knowledge-shared-world

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arabic_star_names

No. Proper Name Arabic Name Meaning Star
01 Acamar Akhir an-Nahr End of the river Theta Eri
02 Achernar Akhir an-Nahr End of the river Alpha Eri
03 Acrab Al-'Aqrab The scorpion Beta Sco
04 Acubens Az-Zubana The claw Alpha Cnc
05 Adhafera Ad-Dafirah The curl Zeta Leo
06 Adhara Al-'Adhara The maidens Epsilon CMa
07 Ain 'Ain "Eye" of the Bull Epsilon Tau
08 Albali Al-Bali' The swallower Epsilon Aqr
09 Alchibah Al-Khiba' The tent Alpha Crv
10 Aldebaran Ad-Dabaran "Follower" of the Pleiades Alpha Tau
11 Alderamin Adh-Dhira' al-Yamin ? The right forearm ? Alpha Cep
12 Alfirk Al-Firq The flock Beta Cep
13 Algedi Al-Jady The goat Alpha Cap
14 Algenib Al-Janb The flank Gamma Peg
15 Algieba Al-Jabhah "The forehead" of the lion Gamma Leo
16 Algebar Al-Jabbar The giant Beta Ori
17 Algol Al-Ghul The ghoul Beta Per
18 Algorab Al-Ghurab The raven Delta Crv
19 Alhena Al-Han'ah The brand-mark Gamma Gem
20 Alioth Al-Jawn The black horse Epsilon UMa
21 Alkaid Al-Qa'id "Leader" of the mourning maidens Eta UMa
22 Alkes Al-Ka's The cup Alpha Crt
23 Almak 'Anaq al-Ard Earth-kid Gamma And
24 Almeisan Al-Maisan The shining one Gamma Gem
25 Alnair An-Nayyir The bright one Alpha Gru
26 Alnair An-Nayyir The bright one Zeta Cen
27 Alnilam An-Nidham The string of pearls Epsilon Ori
28 Alnitak An-Nitaq The belt Zeta Ori
29 Alphard Al-Fard The solitary one Alpha Hya
30 Alphecca Al-Fakkah "The broken" ring of stars Alpha CrB
31 Alpheratz Surrat al-Faras Navel of the steed Alpha And
32 Alsafi Al-Athafi "The tripods" for cooking on Sigma Dra
33 Alsuhail Suhail Un-translated Lambda Vel
34 Altair At-Ta'ir "The flying" eagle Alpha Aql
35 Altais At-Tinnin The great serpent Delta Dra
36 Alterf At-Tarf "The glance" of the lion Lambda Leo
37 Aludra Al-'Udhrah The maidenhead Eta CMa
38 Alula Australis Al-Qafzah al-Ula The southern one of "the first leap" Xi UMa
39 Alula Borealis Al-Qafzah al-Ula The northern one of "the first leap" Nu UMa
40 Alya Al-Alyah The fatty tail of a sheep Theta Ser
41 Angetenar 'Arjat an-Nahr Curve of the river Tau2 Eri
42 Ankaa Al-'Anka' Phoenix Alpha Phe
43 Arkab Al-'Urqub The heel-tendon Beta Sgr
44 Arneb Al-Arnab The hare Alpha Lep
45 Arrakis Ar-Raqis The dancer Mu Dra
46 Atik Al-'Atiq "The shoulder" of the Pleiades Omicron Per
47 Auva Al-'Awwa' The barker Delta Vir
48 Azha Al-Udhi The hatching-place Eta Eri
49 Baham Al-Biham The livestock Theta Peg
50 Baten Kaitos Batn Qaytus Belly of Cetus Zeta Cet
51 Beid Al-Baid The eggs Omicron1 Eri
52 Benetnash Banat Na'sh Daughters of the bier Eta UMa
53 Betelgeuse Yad al-Jauza' Hand of Orion Alpha Ori
54 Botein Al-Butain The little belly Delta Ari
55 Caph Al-Kaff "The palm" of the Pleiades Beta Cas
56 Celbalrai Kalb ar-Ra'i The shepherd's dog Beta Oph
57 Chort Al-Kharat The rib Theta Leo
58 Cursa Al-Kursi The chair Beta Eri
59 Dabih Sa'd adh-dhabih The lucky star of "the slaughterer" Beta Cap
60 Deneb Dhanab ad-Dajajah Tail of the hen Alpha Cyg
61 Deneb Dhanab ad-Dulfin Tail of the Dolphin Epsilon Del
62 Deneb Algedi Dhanab al-Jady Tail of the goat Delta Cap
63 Deneb Kaitos Dhanab Qaytus Tail of Cetus Beta Cet
64 Denebola Dhanab al-Asad Tail of the lion Beta Leo
65 Diphda Ad-Difdi' The frog Beta Cet
67 Dschubba Al-Jabhah "The forehead" of the scorpion Delta Sco
68 Dubhe Ad-Dubb The bear Alpha UMa
69 Dziban Adh-Dhi'ban The two wolves Psi Dra
70 Edasich Adh-Dhikh The hyena Iota Dra
71 El Nath An-Nath The butting Beta Tau
72 Eltanin At-Tinnin The great serpent Gamma Dra
73 Enif Al-Anf The nose Epsilon Peg
74 Errai Ar-Ra'i The shepherd Gamma Cep
75 Fomalhaut Fam al-Hut Mouth of the fish Alpha PsA
76 Furud Al-Furud "Individual" stars Zeta CMa
77 Gienah Al-Janah The wing Gamma Crv
78 Gienah Al-Janah The wing Epsilon Cyg
79 Gomeisa Al-Ghumaisa' The bleary-eyed one Beta CMi
80 Hadar Hadar Un-translated Beta Cen
81 Hamal Al-Hamal The ram Alpha Ari
82 Heka Al-Haq'ah The white spot Lambda Ori
83 Homam Sa'd al-humam The lucky star of "the high-minded man" Zeta Peg
84 Izar Al-Izar The loin-cloth Epsilon Boo
85 Jabbah Al-Jabhah "The forehead" of the scorpion Nu Sco
86 Kaffaljidhma Al-Kaff al-Jadhma' The cut-short hand Gamma Cet
87 Kaus Australis Al-Qaus The southern one of "the bow" Epsilon Sgr
88 Kaus Borealis Al-Qaus The northern one of "the bow" Lambda Sgr
89 Kaus Media Al-Qaus The middle one of "the bow" Delta Sgr
90 Keid Al-Qaid The broken egg-shells Omicron2 Eri
91 Kitalpha Qit'at al-Faras Part of the horse Alpha Equ
92 Kokab Al-Kaukab The star Beta UMi
93 Kurhah Al-Qurhah "The blaze" on a horse's brow Xi Cep
94 Lesath Al-Las'ah The sting Upsilon Sco
95 Maasym Al-Mi'sam The wrist Lambda Her
96 Maaz Al-Ma'z The he-goat Epsilon Aur
97 Marfik Al-Mirfaq The elbow Lambda Oph
98 Markab Mankib al-Faras "The shoulder" of the horse Alpha Peg
99 Matar Sa'd Matar The lucky star of "the rain" Eta Peg
100 Mebsuta Al-Mabsutah "The outstretched" paw Epsilon Gem
101 Megrez Al-Maghriz "The insertion-point" of the Bear's tail Delta UMa
102 Meissa Al-Maisan The shining one Lambda Ori
103 Mekbuda Al-Maqbudah "The pulled-in" paw Zeta Gem
104 Menkalinan Mankib Dhi-al-'Inan Shoulder of the rein-holder Beta Aur
105 Menkar Al-Minkhar The nostril Alpha Cet
106 Menkib Al-Mankib "The shoulder" of the Pleiades Xi Per
107 Merak Al-Maraqq The loins Beta UMa
108 Mintaka Al-Mintaqah The belt Delta Ori
109 Mirak Al-Mi'zar The loin-cloth Beta And
110 Mirfak Al-Mirfaq "The elbow" of the Pleiades Alpha Per
111 Mizar Al-Maraqq The loins Zeta UMa
112 Mothallah Al-Muthallath The triangle Alpha Tri
113 Muphrid Al-Mufrid The solitary one Eta Boo
114 Murzim Al-Murzim The roarer Beta CMa
115 Nashira Sa'd Nashirah The lucky star of Nashirah (un-translated) Gamma Cap
116 Nekkar Al-Baqqar The cattleman Beta Boo
117 Nasl An-Nasl The arrowhead Gamma Sgr
118 Nihal An-Nihal The camels quenching their thirst Beta Lep
119 Nusakan An-Nasaqan The two series Beta CrB
120 Okda Al-'Uqdah The knot Alpha Psc
121 Phact Al-Fakhitah The dove Alpha Col
123 Phad Al-Fakhidh The thigh Gamma UMa
124 Pherkad Al-Farqad The calf Gamma UMi
125 Rasalased Ra's al-Asad Head of the lion Mu Leo
126 Rasalgethi Ra's al-Jathi Head of the kneeling one Alpha Her
127 Rasalhague Ra's al-Hawwa' Head of the snake-man Alpha Oph
128 Rastaban Ra's ath-Thu'ban Head of the snake Beta Dra
129 Rigel Ar-Rijl The foot Beta Ori
130 Rigilkent Rijl Qanturus Foot of the centaur Alpha Cen
131 Risha Ar-Risha' The rope Alpha Psc
132 Rukbah Ar-Rukbah The knee Delta Cas
133 Rukbat Ar-Rukbah The knee Alpha Sgr
134 Sabik As-Sabiq The preceding Eta Oph
135 Sadachbia Sa'd al-Akhbiyah Lucky star of the tents Gamma Aqr
136 Sadalbari Sa'd al-Bari' Lucky star of the excellent one Mu Peg
137 Sadalmelik Sa'd al-Malik Lucky star of the king Alpha Aqr
138 Sadalsuud Sa'd as-Su'ud Luck of lucks Beta Aqr
139 Sadr As-Sadr The breast Gamma Cyg
140 Saiph As-Saif The sword Kappa Ori
141 Scheat As-Saq The leg Beta Peg
142 Shaula Ash-Shaulah The raised tail of the scorpion Lambda Sco
143 Shedir As-Sadr The breast Alpha Cas
144 Sheratan Ash-Sharatan The

Longer version of the video....

Thats cool. Its likely a benign thing. The numbering system for most of the world is Arabic as well. Arabs had their own renaissance of sorts in science and math, so maybe many of those stars gained their names during those times, and the academics just kept to it???

One would expect. Egypt is steeped in all things terrestrial and extra-terrestrial .


As a better understanding comes forth with computers and instant information, no place is remote anymore

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
Arabic does not automatically mean muslim.

Numbers and algebra existed way before muhammed raped his first little girl but for some reason revisionists give islam all the credit.

I am sure most of these stars were named before 400 AD as well.

Oh knock it off whydontcha, yes Arabic don't necessarily mean Muslim , but it was Islamic learning that was the in thing, they made and updated higher learning the West abandoned post Roman era, religious fundamentalism was what bought on the so-called dark ages, as it is now doing wtih Islamic cultures.
And if we are not careful it may very well flip again with the anti-intellectual climate now, hitting the U.S.

It proves that islam is a regressive ideology, how backwards their culture became compared to pre-islam

Can also been seen in the same disgusting christianity ideology, look at the difference between western cultures of Ancient Greece (pre Christianity) and then the Dark Ages,

Thanks religion

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

The whole premise of Tyson's speech is that the president is somehow an ignoramus for stating something about "our god" naming the stars and then implying it was the arabian god allah or something.

Then the first link is from a muslim heritage site.

Islam had nothing to do with naming the stars.

Deny ignorance.

Can we have one thread without you attacking me and defending islam like it is your job or something?

a reply to: FlyingFox


Are the Arab countries known as the "cradle of civilization"? There's a guy on the radio who says there are so many stars, that, for a price, you can name one after somebody or something.

a reply to: Spider879

The wiki link in the original post states exactly what I suspected.

Very old star names originated among people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula more than a thousand years ago, before the rise of Islam. However, many Arabic language star names sprang up later in history, as translations of ancient Greek language descriptions.

originally posted by: Breakthestreak
It proves that islam is a regressive ideology, how backwards their culture became compared to pre-islam

Can also been seen in the same disgusting christianity ideology, look at the difference between western cultures of Ancient Greece (pre Christianity) and then the Dark Ages,

Thanks religion

No it proves that religious fundamentalism, is what brought civilization to lows , the renascence was still Christian but it broke away from the fundamentalist , it took centuries to achieve that with many deaths, to get where we are today.

PERSIAN culture was heavily into astronomy

NOT islamic culture

Mohammed didn't marry a six year old girl until HUNDREDS of years after the naming of the entire northern hemisphere and its constellations

PERSIANS named the stars, NOT islam

Europe is a continent, Christianity is a religion NOT RELATED
Persia is the land mass, Islam is an ideology NOT RELATED

People confusing Persian with Arabic with islam with Muslim is a sad indication of the IQ of the population
Still, not as THICK as people who confuse migrant with muslim or muslim with terrorist or even worse, immigrant and illegal immigrant.

Thanks Persians. Hopefully AFTER islam, your people will once again be world leaders in the sciences

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
a reply to: Spider879

The wiki link in the original post states exactly what I suspected.

Very old star names originated among people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula more than a thousand years ago, before the rise of Islam. However, many Arabic language star names sprang up later in history, as translations of ancient Greek language descriptions.

But as I said they they made and updated higher learning the West abandoned post Roman era, Christianity had largely abandoned higher learning going as far back as Egyptian, Sumerian, Persian, Greek and Roman eras, no one said they invented anything, they however bought such higher learning back to life.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Only when we have a thread where you aren't attacking Islam like it is your job.

How about a thread that pretty much says "see, muslims was kangs, they named the stars"

When in actuality the evidence presented shows the exact opposite, that is was islam which has been responsible for the disappearance of that science-centric culture that existed before Mohammed began his genocidal rape fest

Attacking nazism at every opportunity should be applauded

The same applies to islam (and ALL other false beliefs)

a reply to: Breakthestreak

When in actuality the evidence presented shows the exact opposite, that is was islam which has been responsible for the disappearance of that science-centric culture

No it was fundies and not all came from Muslims that did that, I am not Muslim or religious for that matter, but I do know that early Islam encouraged learning.

a reply to: Breakthestreak

The God of Islam is the same as the God of Christianity and Judaism.

If you can go from the OT (genocidal rape fest) to the NT (love everyone) then what's so hard to believe that they are the same God? Allah seems to have a lot in common with Yahweh so I don't think it's that big of a stretch to believe that.

But anyways... I've gone far enough off topic as it is.

Stars, galaxies, celestial bodies, and all that have Arabic, Chinese and Australian Aborigine names. However, I live in the West where the names have come out of the European tradition. I am not about to change what I call Mars, or the North Star.

Also, not all Arabs are Muslim, and not all Muslims are Arabs.