Named star

Pherkad

HIP
75097
Designation
13 Gam UMi
Bayer designation
γ UMi
Visual magnitude
3
Constellation
Lesser Bear
Name approved by the IAU
2016-08-21

The IAU catalogue's account

Applied in recent times from the singular form of the pre-Islamic Arabian asterism name al-farqadan, "the Two Calves," for β and γ UMi.

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
Indigenous Arabic
Ancient-layer signal
cue found
Source form
al-farqadan
Pronounced
fer' kud
Literal meanings
the Two Calves
Periods of use
Recent / modern

Source: Kunitzsch & Smart, A Dictionary of Modern Star Names, 2nd ed. 2006, p. 58

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.

Corpus chains passing through this star. Deviation is the cross-track angular distance of the third star from the great-circle plane.

  • Киль → Малая Медведица → ДраконОснование спасения → Малое стадо → Древний змей - сатана, дьяволWith: Avior, Altais · Deviation 0,000120621°
  • Малая Медведица → Кассиопея → РыбыМалое стадо → Церковь — Жена Агнца → Два Божьих народаWith: Achird, Alpherg · Deviation 0,000397946°

Other named stars of this constellation: