Beta Andromedae
Encyclopedia
Beta Andromedae (Beta And, β And, β Andromedae) is a red giant
star
in the constellation
of Andromeda
. It has the traditional name Mirach (also spelled Merach, Mirac, Mirak). It has spectral class
M0, and is approximately 200 light years away. It is classified as a suspected semiregular variable star
whose apparent visual magnitude varies from +2.01 to +2.10.
and is theoretically visible to all observers north of 54° S. Its location in the sky is shown on the left.
The galaxy
NGC 404, also known as Mirach's Ghost, is visible seven arc-minutes away.
of 1521 as super mizar. Here, mirat is a corruption of the Arabic
ميزر mīzar
"girdle", which appeared in a Latin translation of the Almagest
. This word refers to Mirach's position at the left hip of the princess Andromeda
.
Medieval astronomers writing in Arabic called β Andromedae Janb al-Musalsalah (The Side of the Chained (Lady)); it was part of the 26th manzil (Arabian lunar mansion
) Batn al-Hũt, the Belly of the Fish, or Qalb al-Hũt, the Heart of the Fish. The star has also been called Cingulum and Ventrale.
This al-Hũt was an indigenous Arabic constellation, not the Western "Northern Fish" part of the constellation Pisces
.
These names are not from the Arabic marãqq, loins, because it was never called al-Marãqq in Arabian astronomy.
Al Rishã, the Cord (of the well-bucket), on al-Sũfĩ
's star map. It is origin of the proper name Alrescha for Alpha Piscium
.
In Chinese
, , meaning Legs
(asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of β Andromedae, η Andromedae, ζ Andromedae
, ε Andromedae
, δ Andromedae, π Andromedae
, ν Andromedae
, μ Andromedae
, σ Piscium, τ Piscium, 91 Piscium, υ Piscium
, φ Piscium
, χ Piscium and ψ1 Piscium. Consequently, β Andromedae itself is known as
The people of Micronesia
named this star as Kyyw "The Porpoise", and become once of Micronesian month name.
Mirach is listed in MUL.APIN
as KA.MUSH.I.KU.E, meaning "the Deleter" (the alternative star is α Cas
)..
Red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of Andromeda
Andromeda (constellation)
Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus...
. It has the traditional name Mirach (also spelled Merach, Mirac, Mirak). It has spectral class
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
M0, and is approximately 200 light years away. It is classified as a suspected semiregular variable star
Variable star
A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...
whose apparent visual magnitude varies from +2.01 to +2.10.
Observation
β Andromedae is located northeast of the Great Square of PegasusPegasus (constellation)
Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...
and is theoretically visible to all observers north of 54° S. Its location in the sky is shown on the left.
The galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
NGC 404, also known as Mirach's Ghost, is visible seven arc-minutes away.
Naming and etymology
The name Mirach, and its variations, such as Mirac, Mirar, Mirath, Mirax, etc. (the name is spelled Merach in Burritt's The Geography of the Heavens) come from the star's description in the Alfonsine TablesAlfonsine tables
The Alfonsine tables provided data for computing the position of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars....
of 1521 as super mizar. Here, mirat is a corruption of the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
ميزر mīzar
Mizar (star)
The Mizar–Alcor stellar sextuple system consists of the quadruple system Mizar and the binary system Alcor.- Description :Mizar is a quadruple system of two binary stars in the constellation Ursa Major and is the second star from the end of the Big Dipper's handle. Its apparent magnitude is 2.23...
"girdle", which appeared in a Latin translation of the Almagest
Almagest
The Almagest is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Written in Greek by Claudius Ptolemy, a Roman era scholar of Egypt,...
. This word refers to Mirach's position at the left hip of the princess Andromeda
Andromeda (mythology)
Andromeda is a princess from Greek mythology who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, the Boast of Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek Ἀνδρομέδη...
.
Medieval astronomers writing in Arabic called β Andromedae Janb al-Musalsalah (The Side of the Chained (Lady)); it was part of the 26th manzil (Arabian lunar mansion
Lunar mansion
A lunar mansion is a segment of the ecliptic through which the moon moves in its orbit around the earth, often used by ancient cultures as part of their calendar system...
) Batn al-Hũt, the Belly of the Fish, or Qalb al-Hũt, the Heart of the Fish. The star has also been called Cingulum and Ventrale.
This al-Hũt was an indigenous Arabic constellation, not the Western "Northern Fish" part of the constellation Pisces
Pisces (constellation)
Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish, and its symbol is . It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east...
.
These names are not from the Arabic marãqq, loins, because it was never called al-Marãqq in Arabian astronomy.
Al Rishã, the Cord (of the well-bucket), on al-Sũfĩ
Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi was a Persian astronomer also known as Abd ar-Rahman as-Sufi, or Abd al-Rahman Abu al-Husayn, Abdul Rahman Sufi, Abdurrahman Sufi and known in the west as Azophi; the lunar crater Azophi and the minor planet 12621 Alsufi are named after him...
's star map. It is origin of the proper name Alrescha for Alpha Piscium
Alpha Piscium
Alpha Piscium is a star in the constellation Pisces. It has the traditional name Alrescha , from the Arabic الرشآء al-rišā’ "the well rope". Less common names are Kaitain and Okda, the latter from the Arabic عقدة ‘uqdah "knot".The distance to α Psc is about 139 light years...
.
In Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, , meaning Legs
Legs (Chinese constellation)
The Legs mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger.-Asterisms:...
(asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of β Andromedae, η Andromedae, ζ Andromedae
Zeta Andromedae
Zeta Andromedae is a star system in the constellation Andromeda. It is approximately 181 light years from Earth....
, ε Andromedae
Epsilon Andromedae
Epsilon Andromedae is a G-type giant star in the constellation of Andromeda. It has an apparent visual magnitude of approximately 4.37....
, δ Andromedae, π Andromedae
Pi Andromedae
Pi Andromedae is a spectroscopic binary in the constellation Andromeda. It is approximately 660 light years from Earth....
, ν Andromedae
Nu Andromedae
Nu Andromedae is a binary star in the constellation Andromeda. It is approximately 680 light years from Earth.Nu Andromedae is spectroscopic binary whose components are a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf and a yellow-white F-type main sequence dwarf...
, μ Andromedae
Mu Andromedae
Mu Andromedae is a star in the constellation Andromeda. It is approximately 136 light years from Earth.Mu Andromedae is a white A-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +3.86.-References:...
, σ Piscium, τ Piscium, 91 Piscium, υ Piscium
Upsilon Piscium
Upsilon Piscium is a star approximately 310 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Pisces. It is bluish-white star of the spectral type A3V. It has a surface temperature of 7,500 to 11,000 kelvins, and is approximately the same size as our Sun, yet is much hotter and brighter. It has a...
, φ Piscium
Phi Piscium
Phi Piscium is a binary star system approximately 380 light years away in the constellation Pisces. It consists of Phi Piscium A, with a spectral type of K0III, and Phi Piscium B. Phi Piscium A possesses a surface temperature of 3,500 to 5,000 kelvins...
, χ Piscium and ψ1 Piscium. Consequently, β Andromedae itself is known as
The people of Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
named this star as Kyyw "The Porpoise", and become once of Micronesian month name.
Mirach is listed in MUL.APIN
MUL.APIN
MUL.APIN is the conventional title given to a Babylonian compendium that deals with many diverse aspects of Babylonian astronomy and astrology....
as KA.MUSH.I.KU.E, meaning "the Deleter" (the alternative star is α Cas
Alpha Cassiopeiae
Alpha Cassiopeiae is a second magnitude star in the constellation Cassiopeia, with the traditional name Schedar, sometimes spelt Shedir. Though listed as the alpha star by Johann Bayer, Schedar's visual brightness closely rivals the beta star in the constellation, Caph...
)..
Further reading and external links
- Allen, R. H., (1899) Star Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert
- Davis Jr., G. A., (1971) Pronunciations, Derivations, and Meanings of a Selected List of Star Names, (rep.) Cambridge, Sky Publishing Corp.
- Kunitzsch, P., (1959) Arabische Sternnamen in Europa
- Kunitzsch. P., (ed.) (1990) Der Sternkatalog des Almagest, Band II
- http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/andromeda-p.html
- Image MIRACH