⚪Udang - θ Capricorni
A binary system a white and a cooler star at a distance of 158 ly distance. The new name is from the Indonesian island of Bali and reflects a tradition that is more than a millennium old.
🟡Yuyu — ι Cancri
A binary at Vmag 4.03 resolved in amateur telescopes as a golden G-type giant with a white A-type companion, at a distance of 337 ly. The name is Javanese for a crab, resembling an old indigenous constellation.
IAU names Feb 2026.
#Yuyu #IAUStarNames
🟡 Lumbung — 39 Crucis
An eruptive white variable star (mag 4.95) between the bright stars of the Southern Cross, 1034 ly away. The new star name refers to a traditional Indonesian rice barn and is from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language.
IAU-names from Feb 2026.
#Lumbung #IAUStarNames
⚪Udang - θ Capricorni
A binary system a white and a cooler star at a distance of 158 ly distance. The new name is from the Indonesian island of Bali and reflects a tradition that is more than a millennium old.
#Udang #IAUStarNames
🟠Tonglingxing - HIP 33694
A on old orange K-type giant (mag 4.55) in the constellation Camelopardalis. The Chinese name means "Phoenix Tree Mound" and suggests poetically the rise of the phoenix in northern spring time. A slowly spinning star at 191 ly distance.
#Tonglingxing #IAUStarNames
⚪ Gaja — τ Tauri
A double binary (mag 3.0) marking horn of Taurus, The Bull and Gaja, The Elephant. Gaja means “elephant” in Sanskrit, and the spelling is from modern Indonesian. An interesting star system at 304 ly.
IAU Feb 2026.
#Gaja #IAUStarNames
🟡 Naga — γ Hydrae
A golden G-type giant (mag 3.0) marking the tip of Hydra’s tail. Nāga means “serpent” in Sanskrit, echoing sacred serpent traditions across South & SE Asia. Spectroscopic binary, ~5127 K, 19 R☉, 132 ly.
IAU Feb 2026.
#Naga #IAUStarNames 🐍✨
✨ WGSN 2025 report published!
IAU Working Group on Star Names report now in JAHH 28(4), 1026–1038.
New research on historical & Indigenous star names.
Thanks to Susanne M. Hoffmann & Jörg M. Determann and to the editorial team of JAHH.
🔗 doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames
✨ WGSN 2025 report published!
IAU Working Group on Star Names report now in JAHH 28(4), 1026–1038.
New research on historical & Indigenous star names.
Thanks to Susanne M. Hoffmann & Jörg M. Determann and to the editorial team of JAHH.
🔗 doi.org/10.3724/SP.J...
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames
🌌 IAU publishes news on WGSN’s recent work.
59 new star names have been officially added to the catalog, reflecting cultural diversity from around the world.
🔗 News Link
iau.org/Iau/News/Ann...
🌌 IAU publishes news on WGSN’s recent work.
59 new star names have been officially added to the catalog, reflecting cultural diversity from around the world.
🔗 Link www.iau.org/IAU/News/Ann...
Happy Chinese New Year! 🐎🌌
From ancient Chinese sky traditions to modern star names, Tiansi (天驷) the Heavenly Horses continues its journey across the Milky Way.
May this new year gallop forward with light, harmony, and cosmic inspiration.
True lovers bring each other the stars from the sky ✨
The IAU does not name stars after people —
but the sky is full of stories for romantic declarations.
Look tonight near Orion and find the “Heart” —
officially Eridanus ❤️🌌
Love the sky. Know the stars.
#ValentinesDay #StarLore #Astronomy #IAU
✨ IAU-WGSN Star Names 2025 ✨
In 2025, the IAU-WGSN adopted 40 new star names, up from 19 in 2024. These names reflect rich cultural roots—from Indigenous, Arabic, Chinese, and classical traditions. Mapped using Gaia DR2. 🌌
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames #Astronomy #GaiaDR2
🔴 In 2025, the IAU WGSN approved 40 new official star names from global sky traditions, including Chinese, Arabic, Sámi, Indian, Egyptian, and classical Greek & Latin sources—celebrating humanity’s shared astronomical heritage.
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames #Astronomy
🔴 In 2025, the IAU WGSN approved 40 new official star names from global sky traditions, including Chinese, Arabic, Sámi, Indian, Egyptian, and classical Greek & Latin sources—celebrating humanity’s shared astronomical heritage.
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames #Astronomy
🔴 In 2025, the IAU WGSN approved 40 new official star names from global sky traditions, including Chinese, Arabic, Sámi, Indian, Egyptian, and classical Greek & Latin sources—celebrating humanity’s shared astronomical heritage.
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames #Astronomy
🔴 In 2025, the IAU WGSN approved 40 new official star names from global sky traditions, including Chinese, Arabic, Sámi, Indian, Egyptian, and classical Greek & Latin sources—celebrating humanity’s shared astronomical heritage.
#IAU #WGSN #StarNames #Astronomy
⚪ Huagai — ι Cassiopeiae
A complex multiple-star system in Cassiopeia. Huagai (“Imperial Canopy”) crowns the Purple Forbidden Palace in ancient Chinese astronomy. Magnetic, hierarchical system, ~141 ly, circumpolar.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Huagai #IAUStarNames
⚪ Gang — 50 Cassiopeiae
A crisp white A-type star near the pole. Gang (“the Shaft”) belongs to the Chinese asterism Huagai, the Emperor’s canopy. Once mistaken for a nebula, now a settled main-sequence star at 162 ly.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Gang #ChineseAstronomy
🔴 Custos — BE Camelopardalis
A deep red AGB giant glowing faintly in Camelopardalis. Named from Custos Messium (“Keeper of the Harvest”), a lost Early Modern constellation. Huge, cool, and pulsating: ~176 R☉, 963 ly.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Custos #ForgottenConstellations
⚪️ Shangcheng (上丞) — HIP 14862
A fast-spinning white star in Cassiopeia. Shangcheng (“Great Imperial Minister”) guards the northern gate of China’s Purple Forbidden Palace. Strongly oblate A-type star, ~160 ly away.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Shangcheng #IAUStarNames
🔵 Shangwei (少衛) — HIP 29997
A snow-white A-type star in Camelopardalis. Shangwei (“Imperial Guard”) belongs to the ancient Chinese Purple Forbidden Palace near the pole. Rapid rotator, 10,000 K, 175 ly, circumpolar.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Shangwei #ChineseAstronomy
🎄🔵 Sarvvis — δ Persei
A hot blue-white runaway star in Perseus. Sarvvis is the Sámi Reindeer Bull, part of a vast Arctic sky animal spanning Perseus–Auriga–Cassiopeia. Fast-rotating B-type binary, mag 3.0, 527 ly.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Sarvvis #SamiAstronomy
🎄🟠 Kamelos — HD 45866
A faint K-type red giant in Camelopardalis. Kamelos (“camel”) plays on the Greek roots of the Giraffe constellation and its 17th-century lore. Cool, swollen, and quiet: 4200 K, ~52 R☉, 579 ly.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Kamelos #IAUStarNames
🎄🦌 Aldu — ε Persei
A bluish-white B-type star (mag 2.9) in Perseus. Named Áldu (“Reindeer Cow”) from Sami tradition, part of the winter reindeer constellation. Rapidly pulsating spectroscopic binary, 26,500 K, 15 M☉, 6 R☉, 537 ly.
IAU Dec 2025.
#Aldu #IAUStarNames
✨ Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2026!
May the new year be filled with peace, wonder, and bright new stars. 🌟
🎄 Rangifer — 49 Cas
A circumpolar G-type giant (mag ~5) in Cassiopeia.
Named after the extinct constellation Rangifer (Reindeer), inspired by Sámi sky traditions and introduced in 1743.
🌡️ ~4880 K | ~1.1 M☉ | ~19 R☉ | ~426 ly
IAU adopted Dec 2025.
#Rangifer #IAUStarNames 🦌✨
🎄 Tarandus — 2 UMi
Warm orange giant near the North Celestial Pole (mag 4.22).
Name from Rangifer (Reindeer), Latinized from Greek tárandos.
🌡️ ~4510 K | ~2.3 M☉ | ~24 R☉ | ~312 ly
IAU adopted Dec 2025.
#Tarandus #IAUStarNames
🔺 Triangulum — Star Names
Alaybasān (β Tri) — Arab.
Deltoton — Greek.
Apdu (γ Tri) — Egyptian.
Mothallah (α Tri) — Arabic.
Triangulum unites Arab, Greek, and Egyptian sky traditions.
#Triangulum #StarNames
