"UMa
AL-IOTH, one of the
ridiculously corrupt forms of al-'Ayyuq, the ancient
Arabic name of Capella. This is just another example of how star names
are wont to wander at the hands of the uninformed. Scaliger's derivation
is not accepted. The Arabic names for this star were
al-Juan, 'the Black Horse or Camel', and al-Hawar
(or al-Hawwar), 'the extremely bright one', an appropriate
name for the brightest star in the constellation." 3
- Table Data: ESA, 1997, The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues, ESA
SP-1200; pp 1264-1265, Hipparcos Catalog (HIP) No. 62956
- Listed as 49 Light Years in A Field Guide To The Stars and
Planets, by Donald H. Menzel, Houghton Mifflin, 1964, 63-7017;
rev. ed. 1998 by Jay M. Pasachoff lists no distance information.
- "Pronunciations, Derivations, and Meanings of a Selected List
of Star Names", Popular Astronomy, January 1944, by George
A. Davis jr.
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