Markeb
- HIP
- 45941
- Designation
- Kap Vel
- Bayer designation
- κ Vel
- Visual magnitude
- 2.47
- Constellation
- Sails
- Name approved by the IAU
- 2017-09-05
The IAU catalogue's account
Evidently from the Arabic word markab, "a ship or any vehicle," presumably standing for the Greek constellation name Argo. However, Arabic sources do not mention markab for Argo, only al-safina ("the Ship"), hence the ultimate origin of the name remains a mystery. "Markeb" was applied as a star name to ρ Pup in medieval times, to κ Pup in Early Modern rimes, and finally to κ Vel in recent times when Argo was divided into its four modern constellations
- Source language
- Arabic
- Reference
- 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.
Source: IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN), Working Group on Star Names. The account is the IAU's own text and is quoted in full: it is published under CC BY.
From Kunitzsch & Smart
- Layer of tradition
- Arabic
- Ancient-layer signal
- no simple cue found
- Source form
- markab
- Pronounced
- miîr' këb
- Literal meanings
- a ship or any vehicle; the Ship
- Periods of use
- Medieval, Renaissance, Recent / modern
- Transmission notes
- uncertain/unknown
Source: Kunitzsch & Smart, A Dictionary of Modern Star Names, 2nd ed. 2006, p. 59
Layer of tradition and ancient-layer signal are not the dictionary authors' judgement but a keyword reading of the entry's wording. “No simple cue found” means exactly that — the parser found none — not that the name is late.
The fields on this card were read off an OCR layer and are not checked against the printed page. The page number is given so the claim can be verified in your own copy.
This star is not part of any chain in the strict sub-corpus.
Other named stars of this constellation: