emamajek on 01-May-2015 03:25:12 GMT about * alf Phe
Alpha Phe (HR 99) has the proper name "Ankaa" in several astronomy references over the past century:
(1) C. W. Allen (1963) "Astrophysical Quantities" 2nd edition, University of London, The Athlone Press (Chapter 12, Section 114).
(2) 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.
(3) Dorris Hoffleit & Carlos Jaschek (1991) "The Bright Star Catalogue" (5th edition; Yale University Observatory, New Haven, CT, USA).
(4) Arthur N. Cox (2000) "Allen's astrophysical quantities, 4th ed."
(AIP Press, Springer, New York).
(5) Ian Ridpath (2003) "Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook" (20th edition; Dutton).
(6) Paul Kunitzsch & Tim Smart (2006) "A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations" (2nd Revised Edition, Sky Publishing, Cambridge MA, USA).
A.H.M. Samaha (1936; Helwan Observatory Bulletin No. 39, "Arabic Names of Stars") listed the name "Al-Ankaa" as an Arabic name for the constellation Phoenix (meaning "a fabulous bird") and attributed the source as Al-Falaki (astronomer Ismail Mustafa al-Falaki). The name does not appear in Allen's (1899) "Star-names and Their Meanings", and did not appear in classic 19th century compendia and sky atlases, nor in 20th century Nautical Almanacs. Somewhere between Samaha's 1936 work and Allen's (1963) "Astrophysical Quantities" (perhaps by Allen himself?), the name was transfered from the constellation to the brightest star (alf Phe).
A rarer alias for Alpha Phe that appears in some astronomical references is "Nair al Zaurak":
(1) Richard Hinckley Allen (1899) "Star-names and their meanings" (G.E. Stechert, New York) ["Na'ir al Zaurak", attributed to Al Tizini, presumably from Hyde's 1665 translation].
(2) Dorris Hoffleit & Carlos Jaschek (1991) "The Bright Star Catalogue" (5th edition; Yale University Observatory, New Haven, CT, USA) ["Nair al Zaurak"].
(3) Paul Kunitzsch & Tim Smart (2006) "A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations" (2nd Revised Edition, Sky Publishing, Cambridge MA, USA) ["Nair al Zaurak"].
However, it appears that "Ankaa" is more commonly used.
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