🟡 Genghe — σ Boo Yellow-white F-type star in Boötes. Gěnghé (梗河) means “Celestial Lance,” an ancient Chinese asterism of three stars. 🌡️ 6,594 K | 3.84 M☉ | 1.47 R☉ | 50 ly 🔬 F4 V star with a strong magnetic field & X-ray emission. #Genghe #IAUStarNames #Bootes ✨

✨ Happy Tanabata! 🎋 Missed your chance to send wishes to the stars on July 7? This year, you'll have another opportunity on August 19 (the 7th day of the 7th lunar month). Look up at Vega & Altair, greet them, and perhaps make a wish they're always there. 🌌✨ #Tanabata #Astronomy

🟠 Kalasungsang — ρ Boo Orange giant in Boötes. The Balinese name Kalasungsang means “upside-down demon,” from kala (“time/death”), reminding us not to waste time. 🌡️ 4,285 K | 1.16 M☉ | 35 R☉ | 148 ly 🔬 K3 III giant. #Kalasungsang #IAUStarNames #Bootes ⏳✨

Okay, for the purposes of my #starmap projects, I've got this added in...

🔴 Telum — γ Sge Red giant in Sagitta. Telum (“the Dart”) was the Latin name for the constellation in classic European atlases by Dürer, Bayer & Kepler. WGSN assigned it to γ Sge. 🌡️ 3,904 K | 1.2 M☉ | 52 R☉ | 273 ly #Telum #IAUStarNames #Sagitta

🟠 Tianbian — α Sct An orange giant in Scutum, preserving the ancient Chinese asterism Tiān Biàn (“Celestial Cap”), recorded since ~100 BCE as part of the Celestial Market. 🌡️ 4,315 K | 1.14 M☉ | 31 R☉ | 174 ly 🔬 K-type giant with slight brightness variations. #ChineseAstronomy #Scutum ✨

🟡 Shakh — β Sge A golden giant in Sagitta, preserving the ancient Sumerian constellation ŠAH (“The Pig”), recorded in MUL.APIN (c. 1350–1150 BCE). Together with α Sge, it marked the Pig’s snout. 🌡️ 4,990 K | 4.05 M☉ | 85 R☉ | 466 ly 🔬 G8 III giant. #Shakh #IAUStarNames #SumerianAstronomy #Sagitta 🐖✨

🌌 Yaqana & Uñallamacha | The Llama Constellations of the Inka Sky Not all constellations are made of stars. In Inka astronomy, Yaqana and her calf, Uñallamacha, emerge from the dark clouds of the Milky Way, reminding us that even darkness can tell a story. #IndigenousAstronomy #Inka #MilkyWay

⚪ Yaqana — ε Nor A blue-white triple star honoring the Inka Mother Llama, one of the Milky Way’s famous dark constellations. WGSN placed the name at the llama’s udder, symbolizing nourishment. 🌡️ 11,100 K | 6.5 M☉ | 4.4 R☉ | 399 ly 🔬 B2 V triple system. #Yaqana #IAUStarNames #InkaAstronomy 🌌🦙

Durch den Einsatz von zwei Ventilatoren kann ich in der Wohnung jetzt zwischen Ober-/Unterhitze und Umluft umschalten.

Remembering Alan Turing during Pride Month. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈💗 www.kings.cam.ac.uk/alan-mathiso...

🔵 Pistol Star — V4647 Sgr One of the Milky Way’s most luminous stars, hidden by dust near the Galactic Center. A blue hypergiant illuminating the famous Pistol Nebula. 🌡️ 11,800 K | 27.5 M☉ | 308 R☉ | 25,100 ly 🔬 LBV (Luminous Blue Variable) Future supernova candidate. #PistolStar #IAUStarNames

🔴 Pherkad Minor — 11 UMi A red giant near the Little Dipper, preserving the ancient Arabic asterism al-Farqadān (“The Two Calves”). Companion in tradition to the brighter Pherkad. 🌡️ 4,253 K | 1.18 M☉ | 44 R☉ | 526 ly 🔬 K4 III red giant 🪐 Hosts an exoplanet. #PherkadMinor #IAUStarNames #UrsaMinor

Happy Wednesday.

Individual humans, united by a shared passion for the stars, can bridge cultural divides even in countries at war. One key takeaway from the May 26 panel on science communication in West Asia: bring communication down to the individual level. Wars are between states, not people. #CAP2026

At #CAP2026 in Yerevan, Armenia, Stellarium developer Georg Zotti presented advanced tools for cultural astronomy, including Sky Cultures and the query system of the IAU-All Skies Encyclopaedia. #Stellarium #IAU #CulturalAstronomy

At the ASROC 2026 Annual Meeting in Zhubei, Taiwan, Cheung Sze Leung, a member of the #IAU Working Group on Star Names (#WGSN), presented the group's efforts to promote culturally diverse star names and preserve traditional astronomical knowledge from around the world.

Group photo of WGSN members Susanne Hoffmann, Daniel Counnama, and Mohammad Sadegh Faghanpour with Areg Mickaelian (Byurakan Observatory) and Georg Zotti (Stellarium) at CAP2026 closing. Discussions on cultural astronomy, science comms, star naming & education tools. #CAP2026 #WGSN

At #CAP2026 in Yerevan, Dr. Susanne Hoffmann, Chair of the IAU Working Group on Star Names (#WGSN), presented a summary of the group’s 10 years of activities on official star names. M. Sadegh Faghanpour also presented the group’s outreach and communication activities. #IAU #Astronomy

Herzlichen Dank and thanks from the heart to @susanne-m-hoffmann.bsky.social for entrusting me with the role of General Councillor of @iau-wgsn.bsky.social. It is an exceptional honor and privilege for me to collaborate with brilliant scholars from across our planet. exopla.net/star-names/g...

⚪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 🐍✨

🌌 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...

✨ 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-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

Meteorology Beyond Borders: Ancient and Modern Reflections / Giouli Korobili & Teun L. Tieleman, eds. brill.com/display/titl... #openaccess @inekesluiter.bsky.social @susanne-m-hoffmann.bsky.social @oh-hi-colin.bsky.social

🟡 Quadrans – 44 Boo A Yellow sun-like star in #Boötes, mag 4.83. 🌡️ 5877 K | 1.04 M☉ | 1.55 R☉ | 41 ly Name Quadrans (“quadrant”) from the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, near the radiant of the Quadrantids. Hosts a 23 K debris disk; part of a triple system. #Quadrans #IAUStarNames #44Boötis

⭐️ Cassiopeia, Star Names WGSN has standardized the traditional names in Cassiopeia: Segin (uncertain origin), Tiansi (ancient Chinese), Ruchbah (“the knee,” Arabic), Caph (“the hand,” Indigenous Arab), Schedar (“the breast,” Arabic–Greek). A constellation rich in global heritage.

🔺 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

🎄🦌 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

🎄🟠 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

🔴 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

🎄 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

🎄 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 🦌✨

here are some constellations from Napoli youtu.be/dVihQsS_BQM?...

a Napolitanian created this amazing constellation video for kids, in Italian: youtu.be/lnzqja_LutM?...

⚪️ Alaybasan (β Tri) — mag 3.0 white A-type binary in #Triangulum. 🌡️ 7,680 K | 3.25 M☉ | 3.4 R☉ | 124 ly | A5 III Name from Arabic al-Aybasān, “the Two Bone-Joints.” A 31.4-day spectroscopic binary as tight as Mercury’s orbit. #Alaybasan #IAUStarNames #BinaryStars

⚪️ Apdu (γ Tri) — mag 4.0 white, fast-rotating star in #Triangulum. 🌡️ 9,440 K | 2.5 M☉ | 2.25 R☉ | 117 ly | A1Vnn From ancient Egyptian Apdu (𓅫pd), “the Bird,” now official IAU name. #Apdu #GammaTrianguli #IAUStarNames #StarEtymology #Triangulum

🔴On 4th October, the chair of WGSN participated in the 24 Hours Live event at Akashi Planetarium (Japan), part of 100 Hours of Astronomy, @susanne-m-hoffmann.bsky.social explained how stars are officially named by the IAU followed by a public Q&A hosted by IAU-OAO. #IAU #WGSN #Astronomy

🟡 Ain (ε Tau) – yellow giant in #Taurus, mag 3.5, ~154 ly away. 🌡️ 4,880 K | 2.45 M☉ | 12 R☉ Hosts giant planet Amateru (ε Tau b), a hot super-Jupiter (~7 M♃) orbiting every 586 d. Name “Ain” = Arabic ʿAyn al-Thawr, “Bull’s Eye.” #Ain #Amateru #IAUStarNames #Exoplanet #Taurus