emamajek on 04-Jul-2015 22:15:44 GMT about * mu. Leo
Mu Leo (HR 3905) is known by the proper name "Rasalas" [or variants] in some historical astronomical references. Here is an incomplete, but representative history of the names mentioned for this star:
(1) Ulugh Beg (1437) (in "Ulugh Beigh's Catalogue of Stars. Reprinted from Dr. T. Hyde's 1665 translation, as edited by Dr. G. Sharpe in 1767" on page 79 of Francis Baily (1843, Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 13) ["Ras Al Asad Al Shemali"].
(2) Ludewig Ideler (1809) "Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen" (Berlin) ["Ras el-ased el-schemali" transliterated from Ulugh Beg].
(3) Joseph Piazzi (1814) "Praecipuarum Stellarum Inerrantium Positiones Mediae Ineunte Saeculo XIX. Ex Observationibus Habitis In Specula Panormitana Ab anno 1792 ad annum 1813" ["Rasalas. Bor."].
(4) Elijah Hinsdale Burritt (1840) "The Geography of the Heavens, and Class Book of Astronomy; Accompanied by a Celestial Atlas" (5th Edition, with an introduction by Thomas Dick. New York, F.J. Huntington and Co.) ["Ras al Asad"].
(5) Richard Hinckley Allen (1899) "Star-names and their meanings" (G.E. Stechert, New York) ["Rasalas", but also "Alshemali" and "Al Ashfar"].
(6) William Tyler Olcott (1911) "Star Lore of All Ages" (G.P. Putnum's Sons, NY and London; republished as "Star Lore: Myths, Legends, and Facts", Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY, USA 2004) ["Rasalas"].
(7) Antonin Becvar (1964) "Atlas of the Heavens - II: Catalogue 1950.0", Praha: Publication House of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and Cambridge, Mass.: Sky Publishing Corporation, 1964, 4th enl. edition, edited by Mohr, Josef M. (scient. ed.) ["Ras Elased Bor."].
(8) Jack W. Rhoads (1971) "Technical Memorandum 33-507: A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars", Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ["Rasalas"].
(9) Helmet Werner & Felix Schmeidler (1986) "Synopsis der Nomenklatur der Fixsterne = Synopsis of the Nomenclature of the Fixed Stars" Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Stuffgart ["Rasalasad", same name for Epsilon Leo].
(10) Dorris Hoffleit & Carlos Jaschek (1991) "The Bright Star Catalogue" (5th edition; Yale University Observatory, New Haven, CT, USA) [Note: "Ras Elased Borealis; Rasalas; Ras al Asad al Shamaliyy; Alshemali; with HR 3873, Al Ashfar"]
(11) W. B. Smith (1996) FK5 - SAO - HD - Common Name Cross Index (http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?IV/22) ["Rasalas"].
(12) Paul Kunitzsch & Tim Smart (2006) "A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations" (2nd Revised Edition, Sky Publishing, Cambridge MA, USA) ["Rasalas"].
"al-Asad" = the Lion (Arabic), "Ras" = head (Arabic), "Al Shemali" (Arabic) and "Borealis" (Latin) = north. The history of the names are discussed at length in Allen (1899) and Kunitzsch & Smart (2006). Piazzi's (1814) abbreviated version ("Rasalas") appears to be the name in most common modern use.
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