# What is your favorite star name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195 "2019-08-25T01:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/21 "2019-08-25T11:24:34Z")
I’ll go with the same choice as **dogbutler** and **Peter Morris**. I’d type it out but I’m not going to be the one. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/22 "2019-08-25T11:52:53Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > I like Zubenelgenuibi, which is a much cooler name than Alpha2 Librae. [Alpha Librae - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Librae?wprov=sfti1) > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That was my first thought. How about Fomalhaut (mouth of the southern fish/whale)? Brian ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/23 "2019-08-25T12:40:48Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > As ominous as Ra’s al-Ghul, the Demon Star? [derail-nitpick]Ra’s al-Ghul, is “the Demon’s Head”, not “the Demon Star” (or, more literally, “the Head of the Ghoul”).[/derail-nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/24 "2019-08-25T12:58:17Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Yes, Algol, also called Demon Star. Algol is a pretty close transliteration of the Arabic name, al-ghul (the Ghoul). And…it occurs to me that DPRK might have been making a joke in conflating the Batman villain Ra’s al-Ghul with the actual star Algol/al-Ghul, in which case…sorry. Whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/25 "2019-08-25T13:09:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Alberio isn’t too bad, either. > > And yeah, a lot of them start with A. It comes of them mostly being from Arabic. More specifically, a lot of them start with “al-”, the Arabic definite article. Aldebaran, for example, is from al-dabaraan, “The Follower”. Arcturus, on the other hand, isn’t from Arabic, but from ancient Greek. Oddly, Albireo appears to be derived from successive translation and copying errors. Al-bireo isn’t Arabic; at some point, during the convolutions of translating and copying between Greek, Arabic, and Latin, the star’s name was contorted into the Latin phrase “ab ireo”, which someone took as a copyist’s error for an Arabic name, and they “corrected” it to al-bireo, or Albireo. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/26 "2019-08-25T13:35:22Z")
Another Algol fan. Reasons: Old school [computer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL) person. The “ghoul” thing. Early example of a variable star. Deneb’s good too. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/27 "2019-08-25T14:42:27Z")
The Sun. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/28 "2019-08-25T14:50:09Z")
No love for Procyon? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/29 "2019-08-25T15:00:37Z")
Can I change mine to Shannon Elizabeth? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/30 "2019-08-25T15:05:25Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Algol is a pretty close transliteration of the Arabic name, al-ghul (the Ghoul). And…it occurs to me that DPRK might have been making a joke in conflating the Batman villain Ra’s al-Ghul with the actual star Algol/al-Ghul, in which case…sorry. Whoosh. Absolutely no joke, that’s the name of the star! In Arabic, anyway. You are right: رأس means “head”, therefore, the Head of the Demon (Ghoul). Sounds like something Lovecraft made up, but, no, it’s been emanating its astrological vibes since forever. ETA I occasionally have nightmares about Eta Carinae ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/31 "2019-08-25T15:22:59Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Absolutely no joke, that’s the name of the star! In Arabic, anyway. You are right: رأس means “head”, therefore, the Head of the Demon (Ghoul). > > Sounds like something Lovecraft made up, but, no, it’s been emanating its astrological vibes since forever. > > ETA I occasionally have nightmares about Eta Carinae [Music for your nightmares about Eta Carinae](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn3ZNoZCNgA&t=854s) ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/32 "2019-08-25T15:49:36Z")
UY Scuti is a bright star in the constellation Scutum. Scutum (plural scuta) is the Latin word for shield (scut in Romanian). Since scuti is its genitive form, the name of the star means UY of Scutum. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/33 "2019-08-25T16:07:25Z")
I’m fond of the name Alcyone, one of the Pleiades. I often use it as a character name in RPGs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/34 "2019-08-25T16:11:14Z")
[Rigel.](http://www.astronomytrek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rigel.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/35 "2019-08-25T16:12:17Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Absolutely no joke, that’s the name of the star! In Arabic, anyway. You are right: رأس means “head”, therefore, the Head of the Demon (Ghoul). > > Sounds like something Lovecraft made up, but, no, it’s been emanating its astrological vibes since forever. Huh. Ignorance fought. I had always thought the Arabic name was simply “al-ghul”, but several sources I just looked at agree with you, the actual name of the star in Arabic is “ra’s al-ghul”. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/36 "2019-08-25T18:05:37Z")
Another vote for Antares. I just like the way it sounds. But my favorite constellation is Orion. Whenever I find myself looking at the night sky, thinking deep thoughts about infinity, life, the meaning of meaning, I invariably gaze into Orion (if it happens to be up, obviously). In some vague way that’s where “eternity” or “It” is. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/37 "2019-08-25T22:28:21Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Absolutely no joke, that’s the name of the star! In Arabic, anyway. You are right: رأس means “head”, therefore, the Head of the Demon (Ghoul). > > Sounds like something Lovecraft made up, but, no, it’s been emanating its astrological vibes since forever. > > ETA I occasionally have nightmares about Eta Carinae I may have a new favorite! I will fire up SkyView Lite and be looking for it tonight. Eta Carinae sounds interesting too. Are either visible from North America now? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/38 "2019-08-25T23:58:47Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I may have a new favorite! I will fire up SkyView Lite and be looking for it tonight. Eta Carinae sounds interesting too. Are either visible from North America now? Eg from Chicago, Algol should rise tonight around 8:13 p.m. in the northeast and be high in the sky overhead around 5:40 am or so, basically you can’t miss it, but Eta Carinae is not visible that far north. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/39 "2019-08-26T00:55:09Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Vega is the lamest. Why would they name a star after such a shitty car? Some Gremlin riding a Cricket did it? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-star-name/839195/40 "2019-08-26T01:07:34Z")
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