Mastodawn

IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)Aug 8, 2025

🟠 Udkadua (λ And) – HIP 116584 Sumerian for “Storm Demon with the Gaping Mouth” ⚡ — from a 3,000-year-old Babylonian timekeeping asterism 📜 G8IVK yellow-orange subgiant: 🌡️ 4,633 K | 1.47 M☉ | mag 3.82 📍 Hand of Andromeda, near Cassiopeia ✅ IAU-approved 2025 #WGSN #IAU #Udkadua #Andromeda #StarNames

IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)Aug 5, 2025

🟡 Honores (7 And) – HIP 114570 Latin for “honours” — from Bode’s Enlightenment-era constellation (1801) 📜 F1V main-sequence: 🌡️ 7,380 K | 1.6 M☉ | mag 4.52 📍 Left arm of Andromeda ✅ IAU-approved 2025 #WGSN #IAU #Honores #Andromeda #StarNames #CulturalAstronomy

IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)Aug 4, 2025

🟠 Paradys (α Apodis) – HIP 72370 Dutch for “bird of paradise,” named by Plancius in 1598 🗺️ K3III orange giant: 🌡️ 4,090 K | 59.5 R☉ | 4.46 M☉ | mag 3.79 📍 Tail of Apus, decl. –79° ✅ IAU star name (2025) #WGSN #IAU #Paradys #Apus #StarNames #AllSkies

Dwight Williams (💉 x9)+😷🇨🇦Jun 10, 2025

I found out today - or was reminded today, I'm not entirely sure as I've downloaded resources from the IAU on the subject of #starnames in the past year and then neglected to review them carefully - that in 2015, a star in #Monoceros - HD 45652 - was named "Lusitânia", in connection with their Name ExoWorlds programme. The one known planet orbiting it is "Viriato".
I love that this astronomical naming process is picking up speed in my lifetime!

#StarTrek #starcharts #stellarcartography

Dwight Williams (💉 x9)+😷🇨🇦Aug 6, 2023

I was reminded that the name "Ilyria" and #StarTrek go back to at least 1980 with #StarTrekMaps.

Interesting coincidence to more recently read this about #starnames...

https://www.nameexoworlds.iau.org/albania